MICROSTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR FABRICATION OF METAL-MESH GRIDS

Motivated by the need for highly efficient far-IR Fabry-Perot etalons for airborne and space astronomy, we have developed a high-yield photo lithographic technique for producing low-loss metal-mesh reflectors. W e describe the production technique and report on the mesh flatness an d uniformity. Optical measurements of meshes produced by this techniqu e show that absorptivity of less than 1% with reflectivity of more tha n 98% was achieved at the longest wavelengths measured, which proved t hem to be significantly more efficient than commercially available mes hes. This process can achieve wire widths that are less than the mesh thicknesses (typically 3 mum), which extends their applicability to wa velengths as short as approximately 20 mum without sacrificing mechani cal strength for airborne and space-flight applications.