High efficiency plane gratings are applied in a wide range of laser systems in transmission and reflection. Some of these systems include femtosecond laser, diode laser, solid-state laser or DPSS. In laser technology both plane and imaging gratings are installed inside and outside the resonator. These gratings are generally used for wavelength selection, beam splitting, beam shaping and polarization. Indicators of high-performance laser gratings are minimal damage threshold at certain wavelengths, high pulse widths and repetition rates as well as diffraction efficiency on the direction of polarization.

ZEISS offers dielectric transmission and reflection gratings as well as replicated gold-coated gratings optimized for spectral ranges between 200 nm and 12 µm. The parameters determining functionality are:

• Line density
• Groove profile
• Resulting diffraction efficiency
• Wavefront accuracy
• Resolving power
• Imaging properties
• Substrate material
• Associated radiation resistance

ZEISS customizes optical gratings individually by choosing various materials and shapes of optical substrates. Low nonlinear absorption, for instance, can be used as substrate material for high power laser applications. The in-house manufacturing of optical substrates cover plane, curved, free form and aspherical.