Diffractive optics — for the lightweighting and achromatization that refraction can't reach.
DOEs and multi-order diffractive lenses are not a marketing flourish; they are the right answer for programs that need lightweight, achromatic, or pattern-generating optics in a single element. We design them, we cut them on SPDT in-house, and we route binary and multi-level photolithography work through a vetted partner.
Where a diffractive element earns its place in the optical train.
A diffractive optical element is the right call when the program needs a single thin element to do what a thicker glass stack does — and when its dispersion characteristic (opposite sign to refraction, larger magnitude) can be used to flatten chromatic aberration with one extra design variable instead of a second glass.
Multi-order diffractive lenses extend the bandwidth of a purely diffractive design by an integer m, turning a phase step from 2π into 2π·m and keeping the diffraction efficiency high across the band the program actually cares about. The design lives in Zemax with custom user-defined surfaces, with Monte-Carlo tolerance against the manufacturing envelope our SPDT bay or the partner litho process can deliver.
Same focal length, ~80% thickness reduction, achromatized over the design band.
Two paths — chosen by volume, geometry, and the achromatization budget.
- SPDT (in-house)
- Kinoform DOEs and multi-order diffractive lenses cut on our SPDT bay with slow-tool-servo or fast-tool-servo profiles — see the SPDT capability for machine specifics. Used for low-to-mid volume and for the optical inserts that feed the molding floor.
- Photolithography (partner)
- Binary and multi-level DOEs through a vetted external photolithography partner. We own the design and the metrology side; the partner owns the litho and etch. Cost crossover with SPDT at high volume.
Four programs where diffractives are the right tool.
- NIR illumination shaping
- Beam-shaping DOEs for laser and SLED illuminators in NIR sensing — uniform top-hat, ring, line, or custom intensity profiles tuned to the sensor's response.
- HUD virtual-image generation
- Hybrid refractive-diffractive elements for combiner-side and projector-side HUD optics where lightweight, wide-band achromatic performance is the design target.
- Beam splitting and structured light
- Dammann gratings and structured-light projectors for depth sensing, biometric capture, and machine-vision systems that need a known illumination pattern at the work plane.
- Lightweighting refractive replacement
- Large-aperture MOD lenses replacing thick refractive doublets where weight, thickness, or thermal stability drive the polymer-versus-glass call. See the technical illustration for the geometry comparison.
What we measure on every diffractive element — and how it travels with the part.
- Twyman-Green interferometry for transmitted and reflected wavefront on the diamond-turned surface.
- Surface profilometry for groove depth, slope error, and form across the diffractive zones.
- MTF through-focus measurement on the assembled element where the design targets imaging performance.
- Spectral transmission across the design band; out-of-band suppression characterized where the application calls for it.
Related capabilities
- manufacture Single Point Diamond Turning Moore Nanotech 350FG and 250UPL — prototypes, freeform surfaces, and mold-insert finishing in one bay.
- design Optical & Mechanical Design Imaging and illumination optics designed for manufacturability — DFM lives in the prescription, not the review meeting.
- finish Metrology & Testing Interferometry, profilometry, spectrophotometry, MTF, and environmental — every part has a number behind it.
Tell us the optical envelope — we'll tell you whether diffraction is the right tool.
Lightweighting, achromatization across a defined band, and structured-light shaping are the three places DOEs and MODs land an unambiguous win. Send us the prescription; we'll write the manufacturability read.