Fabrication and testing of diamond-machined gratings in ZnSe, GaP, and bismuth germanate for the near-infrared and visible

High quality immersion gratings for infrared applications have been demonstrated in silicon and germanium. To extend this technology to shorter wavelengths other materials must be investigated. We selected three materials, zinc selenide, gallium phosphide and bismuth germanate (Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂), based on high refractive index, good visible transmission and commercial availability in useful sizes. Crystal samples were diamond turned on an ultra-precision lathe to identify preferred cutting directions. Using this information we diamond-flycut test gratings over a range of feed rates to determine the optimal cutting conditions. For both ZnSe and GaP good surface quality was achieved at feed rates up to 1.0 cm/minute using a special compound angle diamond tool with negative rake angles on both cutting surfaces. The surface roughness of the groove facets was about 4 nm. A Zygo interferometer measured grating wavefront errors in reflection. For the ZnSe the RMS error was < λ/20 @633nm. More extensive testing was performed with a HeNe laser source and a cooled CCD camera. These measurements demonstrated high relative diffraction efficiency (> 80%), low random groove error (2.0 nm rms), and Rowland ghost intensities at < 0.1%. Preliminary tests on bismuth germanate show high tool wear.