Modeling focusing characteristics of low F-number diffractive optical elements with continuous relief fabricated by laser direct writing

A theoretical model is established using Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction theory to describe the diffraction focusing characteristics of low F-number diffractive optical elements with continuous relief fabricated by laser direct writing, and continuous-relief diffractive optical elements with a design wavelength of 441.6nm and a F-number of F/4 are fabricated and measured to verify the validity of the diffraction focusing model. The measurements made indicate that the spot size is 1.75 mu m and the diffraction efficiency is 70.7% at the design wavelength, which coincide well with the theoretical results: a spot size of 1.66 mu m and a diffraction efficiency of 71.2%. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.