Solving conical diffraction grating problems with integral equations

Off-plane scattering of time-harmonic plane waves by a plane diffraction grating with arbitrary conductivity and general surface profile is considered in a rigorous electromagnetic formulation. Integral equations for conical diffraction are obtained involving, besides the boundary integrals of the single and double layer potentials, singular integrals, the tangential derivative of single-layer potentials. We derive an explicit formula for the calculation of the absorption in conical diffraction. Some rules that are expedient for the numerical implementation of the theory are presented. The efficiencies and polarization angles compared with those obtained by Lifeng Li for transmission and reflection gratings are in a good agreement. The code developed and tested is found to be accurate and efficient for solving off-plane diffraction problems including high-conductive gratings, surfaces with edges, real profiles, and gratings working at short wavelengths. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America