The finite element method as applied to the diffraction by an anisotropic grating

The main goal of the method proposed in this paper is the numerical study of various kinds of anisotropic gratings deposited on isotropic substrates, without any constraint upon the diffractive pattern geometry or electromagnetic properties. To that end we propose a new FEM (Finite Element Method) formulation which rigorously deals with each infinite issue inherent to grating problems. As an example, 2D numerical experiments are presented in the cases of the diffraction of a plane wave by an anisotropic aragonite grating on silica substrate ( for the two polarization cases and at normal or oblique incidence). We emphasize the interesting property that the diffracted field is non symmetric in a geometrically symmetric configuration. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.