Fabrication of ultrathin flexible diffractive optical elements (DOEs) and application for laser speckle suppression
Zichun Le, Zongshen Liu, Yujie Qiu, Hongliang Ren, Yanxin Dai
Abstract
Compact and flexible optical components are expected to be utilized in laser-imaging systems. We introduce a novel technique for producing self-made ultrathin flexible diffractive optical elements (DOEs) with reciprocating movement that are effective in suppression of laser speckle. We developed a preparation method for acetone-PMMA and benzene-PMMA coating liquids, and obtained all the process parameters for producing ultrathin flexible PMMA DOEs. Experimental results revealed that the fabricated DOEs reduced the speckle contrasts for red, green, and blue lasers substantially; in addition, their transmittance increased significantly. The proposed techniques can be applied extensively in the development of other kind of flexible microoptics.