Modulation Transfer Function of Blazed Diffractive Optics Produced by Diamond Turning

Abstract

In blazed diffractive optics produced by the diamond turning process, the finite size of the tool determines the decrease in diffraction efficiency of the desired order. Diffracted light of other orders degrades the image quality. To analyze the influence of the tool, we evaluate diffraction efficiency and phase of periodic gratings based on the electromagnetic theory and calculate modulation transfer function using a linear system approach.