Design and fabrication of the diffractive phase element that synthesizes three-color pseudo-nondiffracting beams

Abstract

The experimental implementation of the diffractive phase element (DPE) that synthesizes three-color psudo-nondiffracting beams (PNDBs) is described. This DPE is designed with the amplitude-phase retrieval method and fabricated by using optical contact lithography and reactive-ion etching (RIE). Measurements demonstrate that the fabricated DPE has the desired function, i.e., it forms a six-segment PNDB over a finite axial region and is monochromatic in each segment. (C) 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.