Normal vector method for the RCWA with automated vector field generation

Early formulations of the RCWA yield, implicated by the erroneous application of factorization rules to discrete Fourier transformations, poor convergence in certain cases. An explanation for this finding and an approach to overcome the problem for crossed gratings was first given by Li [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13, 1870 (1996) and 14, 2758 (1997)]. A further improvement was achieved by Schuster et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 24, 2880 (2007)], using a structure dependent normal vector (NV) field. While it is trivial to create those NV fields for simple geometrical shapes, to our knowledge an appropriate algorithm for arbitrary shapes does not exist, yet. In this work we present such an algorithm. c 2008 Optical Society of America