Rayleigh-Sommerfeld scalar diffraction by rotating apertures

Abstract We have analytically explored the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld scalar diffraction for various rotating apertures such as rotating single-slit, rotating double-slit, rotating linear diffraction grating, and rotating regular polygonal aperture. Here the apertures are considered to be uniformly rotating along the axes perpendicular to the plane of the apertures and the diffracted fields are analysed in the far-field zone. We have compared the time-averaged intensity distributions for the rotating apertures with the intensity distributions for static circular apertures of the same area. We also have obtained angular speed of rotation dependent Fraunhofer diffraction formulae for the rotating apertures, in particular, the rotating single-slit, the rotating double-slit, and the rotating linear diffraction grating.