Discretization of quasi-sinusoidal diffraction gratings printed on acetates

The aim of this work is to propose the use of printed acetate sheets as quasi-sinusoidal diffraction gratings, as low-cost alternative gratings for application in non-invasive optical tests. Gratings were generated with Matlab® software and made with various models of laser printers. A study of the discretization effects that depend on the symmetry in the sample was included, gratings were placed in the entrance pupil of a positive lens (illuminated by a collimated plane wave) to observe their Fourier transforms. It was found that diffraction patterns of various types of semi-sinusoidal profiles were very close to that of sinusoidal gratings. Gradual change in the size of printed ink spots was observed in more detail through a magnification of 40x. Additionally, an atomic force microscope was used to measure the roughness average of the impressions as to observe the behavior of the ink on the acetate.