Abstract

Dammann gratings are binary phase gratings which can be used for producing an array of spots of equal intensity.¹ These gratings are of interest, e.g., for providing power supply beams for a 2-D array of logic devices in an optical digital computer. Dammann gratings are computer generated using nonlinear optimization techniques. For producing a 1-D array of N spots, N transitions between +1 and − 1 in the grating have to be computed. The computed data are used to write a binary amplitude mask with an electron-beam machine. Finally, a phase grating is fabricated using reactive ion etching in quartz glass. We present efficient ways to compute Dammann gratings and investigate their performance depending on resolution and other fabrication parameters.

© 1987 Optical Society of America