Hybrid refractive-diffractive optics are widely used in infrared systems, but their performance is limited by reduced diffraction efficiency away from the design wavelength. Two techniques are currently being investigated to improve broadband efficiency; dual-layer blaze structures and blazed-binary optics. This paper discusses the design of dual-layer blaze structures in detail, and presents some athermalised lenses which benefit from this approach. A brief summary of using blazed-binary structures to improve efficiency is presented.

Date Published: 25 August 2005
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 5874, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering VI, 58740G (25 August 2005); doi: 10.1117/12.614568

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5874:
Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering VI
Pantazis Z. Mouroulis; Warren J. Smith; R. Barry Johnson, Editor(s)