Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) assimilate optical functionality within thin (≤100 μm), lightweight films. With the recent advent of high dynamic range two-stage photopolymers, gradient-index volume DOEs can now achieve diffraction efficiencies competitive with conventional surface-relief DOEs, while also offering the advantages of contact-free, selfprocessing optical recording into a flat film that can be laminated between protective sheets. Here we design and fabricate Fresnel lenses with what we believe to be the highest reported diffraction efficiencies achieved to date using this gradientindex DOE approach. Our analysis demonstrates that these high diffraction efficiencies are crucially enabled by the high index modulation of the photopolymer, Δn < 0.01. Another factor enabling high diffraction efficiency is the pixel count of the recording exposure. Thus, we use a photolithographic chrome mask with 9000 × 9000 pixels of 2.5 μm diameter, significantly exceeding the pixel count available from spatial light modulators. The mask is imaged onto photopolymer films of 50 μm thickness, and Fresnel patterns of up to 23 mm diameter are recorded in one-shot exposures. The resulting lenses range from f/44 – f/79 with diffraction efficiencies up to 83%. The performance of various lens designs is validated by an analysis showing that, for a given Δn, there is a fundamental trade-off between low f/# and high diffraction efficiency. This high performance represents an important step toward practical applications, ranging through solar energy concentrators, customized vision optics, integrated photonics, heads-up displays, and hybrid lenses.
We show the design and fabrication of high diffraction efficiency, optically recorded gradient-index Fresnel lenses in a two-stage photopolymer. A design analysis reveals that lens f/# is limited by the material refractive index contrast, motivating use of recent high contrast polymers. The number of pixels required for the optical exposure is typically well beyond available spatial light modulator resolutions, motivating the use of a photolithographic mask. Thus, we present a photolithographic technique by which a single exposure into a self-developing photopolymer can directly print single custom high efficiency DOEs with freeform phase profiles, in contrast to holographic optical elements that are limited to the interference of two propagating fields. We use a dithered binary chrome mask with 9000 x 9000 pixels of 2.5 μm diameter to write lenses up to 23 mm in diameter. Lenses down to f/44 with 76% diffraction efficiency and f/79 with 83% diffraction efficiency are demonstrated.
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