Plane gratings are flat diffraction gratings, applied in many industrial fields, e.g. as mono- and polychromators, in laser technology or beam splitting, in aerospace engineering and in reflection standards. Plane, mechanically ruled gratings are designed for the first diffraction order in auto-collimation to gain maximum diffraction efficiency in certain wavelengths. The energy distribution is defined by line spacing, profile depth and blaze angle.

Plane gratings from ZEISS are optimized for spectral ranges between 150 nm and 50 µm. The gratings are mechanically ruled or holographically recorded depending on what method promises the better result. The possible grating profiles are Echelette or blaze, sinusoidal and laminar or binary.