We report on the fabrication of highly efficient fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) in non-photosensitive fibers based on nonlinear absorption of fs laser light. Up to 40 mm long gratings with a transmission of T = -25 dB at the Bragg reflection wavelength were obtained and their coupling constant determined by spectral analysis. Therefore, a phase mask scanning technique with appropriate control of the focus was established
Lens array arrangements are commonly used for the homogenization of highly coherent laser beams. These fly's eye condenser configurations can be used to shape almost arbitrary input intensity distributions into a top hat. Due to the periodic structure of regular arrays the output intensity distribution is modulated by equidistant sharp intensity peaks which are disturbing the homogeneity. As a new approach we apply chirped microlens arrays to the beam shaping system. These are non-regular arrays consisting of individually shaped lenses defined by a parametric description which can be derived completely from analytical functions. The advantages of the new concept and design rules are presented.
The metrology of mirrors with an off-axis aspheric or freeform shape can be based on optical testing using a Computer Generated Hologram as wavefront matching element in an interferometric setup. Since the setup can be understood as optical system consisting of multiple elements with six degrees of freedom each, the accuracy strongly depends on the alignment of the surface under test with respect to the transmission element of the interferometer and the micro optics of the CGH. A novel alignment approach for the relative positioning of the mirror and CGH in six degrees of freedom is reported. In the presented work, a proper alignment is achieved by illuminating alignment elements outside the Clear Aperture (CA) of the optical surface with the help of auxiliary holograms next to the test CGH on the substrate. The peripheral holograms on the CGH substrate are used to generate additional phase maps in the interferogram, that indicate positioning errors. Since the reference spheres represent the coordinate system of the mirror and are measured in the same precision as the optical surface, the registration and shape has to be appropriate to embody the mirrors coordinate system. The alignment elements on the mirror body are diamond machined using freeform turning or micro milling processes in the same machine setup used for the mirror manufacturing. The differences between the turning and milling of alignment lenses is discussed. The novel approach is applied to correct the shape error of a freeform mirror using ultra precision machining. The absolute measurement of the quality of freeform mirror shapes including tilt and optical power is possible using the presented alignment concept. For a better understanding, different metrology methods for aspheres and freeforms are reviewed. To verify the novel method of alignment and the measurement results, the freeform surface is also characterized using ultra high accuracy 2½D profilometry. The results of the different techniques for the absolute measurement of freeforms are compared
In this paper, we analyze the influence of large-scale segmentation errors in the morphology of high-performance optical gratings. It is thus assumed that the optical grating under consideration (typical lateral extends S are 10–1000 mm) can be spatially decomposed into a great many but unique sub-segments (≪S; typical extends are 10–100 μm). Any violation of the perfect periodicity will result in the generation of stray light, especially Rowland ghosts, which radiate into a small angular region around the grating’s diffraction orders. In this paper, we focus on three different kinds of segmentation errors. On the one hand, there are statistic as well as deterministic alignment errors between otherwise perfect sub-segments. On the other hand, we analyze the effect of chirping of geometrical parameters, i.e., the groove width, within every sub-segment. Most importantly, we find that the particular type of imperfection results in a unique characteristic of the according stray light spectrum which thus acts as a fingerprint. We come to this conclusion on three different ways. First, we rely on a simple theoretical model that is based on scalar diffraction theory. Second, we have performed rigorous numerical simulations for a high aspect ratio purely dielectric spectrometer grating (period=667nm). Third, the very same grating was then fabricated by e-beam lithography and its stray light spectrum was measured with a purposely designed optical setup. Eventually, all different routes to analyze the problem turn out to be in very good agreement, and we are confident that stray light measurements can be used as an important tool in the detection of fabrication imperfections
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