grax documentation

Version 0.4.8

graxpy is an independent Python package for one-dimensional X-ray diffraction-grating simulations; grax is its public Python import. It offers two selectable electromagnetic solver paths for the same gratings, materials, and workflows:

• modal rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA), inspired by the one-dimensional RETICOLO approach;

• the Nevière differential method.

The paths share Fourier/discretization infrastructure and differ in how they propagate fields through a layer. solver="rcwa" remains the default. grax provides higher-level abstractions for laminar and blazed gratings, multilayer coating stacks, single simulations, batch execution, and energy-angle sweeps.

For selection guidance and integration settings, see Choosing a solver.

The local Web UI includes its own documentation page. Start grax-web, then click Web docs in the GUI to read the guide for storage, grating creation, simulation runs, plotting, exporting, and customization.

RETICOLO V9 is an important scientific reference and inspiration for GraxPy’s modal RCWA solver. grax is not an official RETICOLO port or direct translation. If you use grax, please also cite RETICOLO:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14631950

RETICOLO license: CC BY 4.0

User guide

• Installation
  • Install the package
  • Web UI
  • Verify the install
  • Build the documentation
• Validation
  • Blazed Grating
  • Blazed Multilayer Grating
  • Laminar Grating (400 l/mm, fixed angle)
  • Laminar Grating (150 l/mm, monochromator sweep)
  • RCWA vs Nevière differential method
• Tutorials
  • Materials
  • Gratings
  • Simulations
  • Choosing a solver
  • Where the two solvers differ
  • Acceleration Backend
  • Optimizer
• How-To Guides
  • Create Custom Grating Profiles
  • How To Run User-Defined Case Lists

Reference

• API reference
  • Gratings
  • Simulation
  • Optimization API (grax_opt)