Techniques for formation of the surface profile of diffractive optical elements

We give a review of the findings of an investigation into a photolithographical method of fabricating diffractive optical elements (DOEs), based on the use of only one photomask with two transmittance gradations. The binarization of the continuous transmission function of the diffractive element is conducted using a technology of half-toning of continuous-tone images and the exposure of the light-sensitive medium is performed using an incoherent spatial filtration in combination with a conventional photolithographical process. We analyze how the DOE diffractive efficiency depends on photomask parameters, binarization methods and fabrication errors. Comparison of the characteristics of the method proposed with the well-known multilevel method is made. Peculiarities of fabricating DOEs with continuous phase profile resulting from the projection, contact, and X-ray lithography are discussed. The results of experimental research are given. A possibility of fabricating DOEs with an 80% diffractive efficiency using only one photomask is demonstrated.     

Single laser exposure fabrication of diamond-like 3-dimensional photonic crystal microstructures using circularly polarized light

Phase tunable multi-level diffractive optical elements define an attractive approach for single laser exposure fabrication of 3-dimensional photonic crystal microstructures. The significant advantage of these multi-level diffractive optical elements over two-level diffractive optical elements is the flexibility of fabricating a wide range of 3-dimensional periodic structures by manipulating the relative phase of different diffracted beams. Here, phase tuning was applied to demonstrate fabrication of a hybrid 3-dimensional structure intermediate between previously reported diamond-like Woodpile-type structure of tetragonal symmetry and structure having body-centered-tetragonal lattice symmetry. Circularly polarized light was applied for the first time to balance the diffraction order efficiencies and improve the structural uniformity. Design guidelines are presented for generating diamond-like photonic crystal template that possesses complete photonic bandgap when inverted with high refractive index materials.     

Research on high-quality projecting reduction lithography system based on digital mask technique

In this paper, digital mask technique is presented, and a high-quality projecting reduction lithography system has been set up successfully. The core device of digital mask technique is digital micromirror device (DMD) which belongs to one of the electrically addressed spatial light modulators. The output image of DMD can be equivalent to a gray-scale mask of high precision, which can control the exposure precisely. If it is combined with a high-quality projecting reduction system, the fabrication of submicron diffractive optical elements can be realized successfully. The overall design of the system is described in detail, and some diffractive optical element masks are fabricated. Experimental results verify that the system is feasible. In the end, system characteristics and system error are summarized.     

Transfer of continuous-relief diffractive structures into diamond by use of inductively coupled plasma dry etching

The transfer of continuous-relief diffractive structures from resist into diamond by use of direct-write electron-beam lithography followed by dry etching in an inductively coupled plasma is demonstrated. The gases used for the diamond etching are O(2) and Ar. The chemical-vapor-deposited diamond substrate is of optical quality. Our results show that the transfer process generates fairly smooth etched structures. Blazed gratings with periods of 45mum and Fresnel lenses have been manufactured. The blazed gratings have been optically evaluated with a femtosecond laser operating at 400 nm. The diffraction efficiency was 68% in the first order, with a theoretical value of 100%. We intend to investigate the transfer process further and then to fabricate diffractive and refractive elements for use with Nd:YAG high-power lasers.     

Wet-etched diffractive lenses for hard X-rays

A method for the fabrication of linear transmission Fresnel zone plates for X-rays in the 8-15 keV photon energy range is presented. The diffractive elements are generated by electron-beam lithography and chemical wet etching of (110)-oriented silicon membrane substrates. Diffractive structures with aspect ratios of more than 30 for 300 nm-wide structures were obtained. The diffraction efficiency of such a lens was measured for 13.3 keV radiation to be 20%.     

用串行迭代算法设计具有长焦深功能的衍射光学元件

提出一种串行迭代算法,将它用于控制波前传播进行衍射光学元件设计.用此算法设计出能使半导体激光束聚焦并具有长焦深功能的衍射光学元件.模拟计算结果表明了此设计方法的有效性.该衍射光学元件已用光刻和离子刻蚀技术制备并进行了光学实验研究,取得了与理论设计一致的实验结果.     

一种设计二元衍射元件的优化方法

基于菲涅耳衍射原理和Gerchberg-Saxton的迭代算法,提出一种孔径分区设计二元衍射元件的优化方法.采用此方法设计的二元衍射元件产生的目标光强于输入激光的模式是不敏感的.具体设计与研制了用于CO₂激光表面(火卒)火处理的二元衍射元件,该衍射元件使CO₂激光束变形成12mm×2mm的矩形光斑.试验结果表明,产生的目标光斑满足设计要求.     

Off-axis metallic diffractive lens for terahertz beams

A diffractive optical element for off-axis focusing of terahertz radiation is presented. It was designed in a nonparaxial regime and manufactured in a metal slab by laser cutting of curved stripes. The optical function of the structure includes focusing and deflecting the illuminating beam of a chosen frequency in a particular place. Therefore, the element acts as both a spatial and a spectral filter; hence it is especially suitable for separating the terahertz signal from a broadband thermal load in passive detection devices. The experimental evaluation of the proposed diffractive lens by means of time-domain spectroscopy is presented and discussed.     

A super-resolution Fresnel zone plate and photon sieve

Realizing a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot is a valuable research aim in soft X-ray focus and other related research applications. Fresnel zone plates (FZP) and photon sieves (PS) are often used to focus the X-rays or other wavelength light at present. Here, we show that combination of a super-resolution phase mask (SPM) and an FZP (or PS) as one diffractive optical element can realize a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot without significantly increasing the fabrication difficulty. All these diffractive phase elements can be applied to beam shaping, mask-less lithography, energy congregation in high power lasers, soft X-rays focus, and any other field that requires a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot.     

Replicated data-matrix array generators

The fabrication and replication of binary spot array generators using 4 and 16 levels gratings is investigated. The elements are designed using iterative Fourier transform algorithm and fabricated by electron-beam lithography. Finally elements are copied by fabricating nickel shims and using hot embossing technique. In each step the optical signals are measured and signals are characterized using bit error rate as a measure of quality. The results show that although 16 level element gives theoretically superior performance, the bit error rate is much lower (∼0.2%) for replicated 4 level elements than for their 16 level counterparts (∼9%).     

激光直写制作的小F数连续浮雕衍射透镜轴向聚焦特性分析

为确定卷积效应以及深度制作误差对小F数连续浮雕衍射透镜(DOE)轴向聚焦特性影响,基于瑞利-索末菲衍射理论建立了激光直写制作的连续浮雕衍射透镜非旁轴近似轴向光强分布模型.该模型考虑了连续浮雕衍射透镜的轴向衍射聚焦特性与透镜结构参数、写入光斑尺寸和扫描间距以及深度制作误差的关系,克服了傍轴近似条件下传统模型的不精确性.为验证模型的正确性,用激光直写制作了设计波长为441.6 nm,F数为4以及相位匹配因子为3的连续浮雕衍射透镜,并测试了波长441.6 nm激光入射时透镜的轴向聚焦特性.实验与分析表明,该模型分析结果与实验测试结果符合,从而证实模型的有效性,为激光直写制作的小F数连续浮雕衍射透镜的应用提供了理论依据.     

Fabrication of blazed gratings by area-coded effective medium structures

Area-coded effective medium structures (ACES) are a recently presented novel type of diffractive structure. Because of their higher stability compared to 2D binary blazed gratings, they have the potential of a broader use in micro-optics applications. The first fabrication with electron-beam lithography validate the theoretical model of blazed ACES. The measured diffraction efficiencies are in very good agreement with the values obtained from rigorous electromagnetic analysis.     

二元光学元件

二元光学元件是一种新型的衍射光学元件,它对光学仪器的小型化、集成化起着很重要的作用。本文介绍了二元光学元件的概况,衍射透镜理论,二元光学元件的制造方法以及发展趋势。     

Fabrication of grating structures by simultaneous multi-spot fs laser writing

Two-photon polymerisation is an established technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures. To date structures have mostly been developed using single beam serial writing. A novel approach to simultaneous multi-spot two-photon polymerisation, that uses a SiO₂ on glass Fraunhofer diffractive optical element to generate an array of beamlets, is described. A Ti:sapphire laser, with wavelength 790 nm, 80 MHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulse duration and an average power of 25 mW, was used to initiate two-photon polymerisation. The DOE, in combination with a high power microscope objective, efficiently transforms the laser beam into a linear array of four spots of equal intensity. The fabrication of a periodic transmission grating, using parallel processing with these four spots, is shown. The grating was written in a Zr-loaded resin prepared on a glass substrate using dip coating deposition of a Zr/PMMA hybrid prepared by the sol-gel method. The operation of the diffractive element and the performance of the diffraction grating are also discussed.     

Multiple micro mirrors for X-ray focusing and collimation

A novel route for fabrication of compact optical system for X-rays is presented. It is based on the extensive use of tools developed for microelectronics and micromechanics: electron beam lithography, optical lithography and X-ray lithography. Virtually any shape can be obtained in order to match the system to the different needs. In this paper, we concentrate the attention on focusing system made by nested mirrors. A system for synchrotron radiation source and one for laboratory source have been designed and simulated by a ray-tracing code developed ad hoc. The main parameters and the fabrication tolerance errors have been evaluated. The first prototypes have been produced following different fabrication routes. They are presented here together with considerations for future developments.     

Excimer laser patterned dielectric masks for the fabrication of diffractive optical elements by laser ablation

Masks for laser processing are generated by laser ablation patterning of dielectric layer systems. The application of these masks for the rapid fabrication of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) is presented. The diffractive optical elements are designed as phase-only elements, assuming an illumination with a plane wave. A continuous phase function is calculated using an iterative Fourier transform algorithm (IFTA). This continuous phase function is reduced to two or four levels by an iterative Fourier quantisation algorithm (IFQA) that is able to include focal power. The fabrication of the DOE is performed in a two-step process. First, a binary amplitude mask (or a set of masks for multi-level DOEs) is made by structured ablation of a highly reflective dielectric coating (HR 248 nm) from a fused silica substrate. This is accomplished by using an ArF excimer laser emitting at 193 nm, a wavelength that is sufficiently absorbed in the HfO₂/SiO₂-dielectric layer system, leading to precisely ablated mask structures. In the second step, this mask is used in a 4:1 projection configuration to generate a surface profile in a polymer substrate by ablation at 248 nm. The depth modulation can be defined by adjusting laser fluence and pulse number. Examples of DOEs ablated in polycarbonate are shown and their performance is characterised.     

Ablation of microstructures applying diffractive elements and UV femtosecond laser pulses

A new method for simple and economic fabrication of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) with three and four phase levels, by UV nanosecond (ns) laser ablation is presented. The technique is based on the combination of two sequentially generated complementary 2-level phase elements. During the fabrication, complete ablative removal of a highly absorbing silicon suboxide layer by pixelated backside illumination ensures the necessary high precision and optical quality. Full functionality of the new DOEs is demonstrated by fabricating micro-structures using UV femtosecond pulses.     

Research on improving the transverse resolution of binary optical element by digital-division-mask technique

We present the digital-division-mask technique for the first time to solve the problem of decline in transverse resolution, which is caused by using digital micro-mirror device (DMD) to make binary optical elements (BOEs). One high-frequency gray-tone mask can be divided into several low-frequency masks by fixed or variable low-frequency period sampling. And the superimposed lithography effect of these low-frequency masks in the spatial or temporal domain is the same as that of the original high-frequency gray-tone mask. The paper firstly analyzes the digital-division-mask technique in theory and describes the feasibility and advantages. Then taking the diffractive surface fabrication of refractive-diffractive hybrid lens as an example, we conclude that the digital-division-mask technique improves the edge sharpness of lithography pattern, and enhances the diffractive efficiency of BOEs by experiment.     

Investigation of laser ablation on hybrid sol–gel material applied to kinoform etching

Ultraviolet laser machining of a hybrid organic/inorganic material prepared via a sol–gel process has been studied for the fabrication of kinoforms or surface relief diffractive optical elements. The hybrid mixes silicon and titanium oxides and an organic network in order to improve the mechanical properties. Different material compositions have been investigated. Laser ablation of the hybrid material is observed at low laser fluence (measured threshold fluence of 125 mJ/cm² at 248 nm/6 ns) and shows that the process is well adapted to micro-patterning by laser machining means. The best observed depth resolution is 60± 20 nm and appears to be limited by the ablation setup. Finally, the fabrication of an effective diffractive optical element and its operation at 1.06 μm are described. PACS  81.20.Fw; 79.20.Ds; 42.79.-e     

High performance diffraction gratings made by e-beam lithography

Gratings are essential components in different high performance optical set-ups such as spectrometers in space missions or ultrashort-pulse laser compression arrangements. Often such kinds of applications require gratings operating close to the technological accessible limits of today??s fabrication technology. Typical critical parameters are the diffraction efficiency and its polarization dependency, the wave-front error introduced by the grating, and the stray-light performance. Additionally, space applications have specific environmental requirements and laser application typically demand a high damage threshold. All these properties need to be controlled precisely on rather large grating areas. Grating sizes of 200?mm or even above are not unusual anymore. The paper provides a review on how such high performance gratings can be realized by electron-beam lithography and accompanying technologies. The approaches are demonstrated by different examples. The first example is the design and fabrication of the grating for the Radial-Velocity-Spectrometer of the GAIA-mission of the ESA. The second grating is a reflective pulse compression element with no wavelength resonances due to an optimized design. The last example shows a three level blazed grating in resonance domain with a diffraction efficiency of approximately 86?%.