Microwave pulse compression using diffraction gratings

Electromagnetic pulse compressors employing gratings of high breakdown strength in the autocollimation regime at the center frequency of the pulse for p polarization are investigated theoretically. A theory is devised on the basis of a numerical solution of the electromagnetic field equations in an integral-equation formulation. The case of the aberrationless approximation of the compression of a bell-shaped pulse with a quadratically modulated phase is considered analytically. A numerical experiment demonstrates the presence of strong distortions in the pulse after compression, which are caused by the cubic and higher terms in the expansion of the frequency dependence of the phase acquired by the wave in the compressor. The conditions for optimal pulse compression with allowance for aberrations are investigated. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(98)01502-5].