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glossary

Diffraction: divergent nature of a wave due to its limited size
Grating: optical device made of periodically spaced out diffractive elements
Pitch ( grating ): distance between adjacent diffractive elements of a grating corresponding to the period of the diffracting pattern
Wavelength ( of a light wave ): distance between two consecutive identical states of the electric ( or magnetic ) field
Littrow angle: for a reflective grating, angle of incidence for which the diffracted wave in the order 1 propagates in the same direction than the incident wave