Wide-angle far-field line generation with diffractive optics

Wide-angle far-field line generation using a simple optical system consisti ng of a cylindrical lens and a resonance-domain diffractive beam-shaping el ement is proposed. The desired intensity distribution is realized as a loca l average of the coherent superposition of the component fields in differen t diffraction orders of a multiple-beam-splitter grating with nanoscale tra nsverse features. Fabrication tolerances of the proposed method are investi gated and the system is demonstrated experimentally using electron beam lit hography and reactive ion etching. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All right s reserved.