TIR holography analyzed with coupled wave theory

A coupled wave model is presented to describe the diffraction behavior of thick total-internal reflection (TIR) holograms. We have transformed the coupled wave equations into a transfer matrix formalism, enabling a general treatment of the boundary conditions. The off-Bragg characteristics of TIR holograms is found to be completely different from normal volume holograms. The diffraction efficiency depends strongly on the phase of the total internal reflection and the optical pathlength through the hologram. High efficiency at the same angle as used for the recording requires careful control of all parameters.