Submicron functional surfaces generated by diamond machining

The application of a fast tool servo assisted diamond turning process enables the generation of structured optical surfaces. To realize a high machining accuracy, two nano Fast Tool Servos (nFTS) have been developed featuring strokes of 500 nm and 350 nm at frequencies up to 5 kHz and 10 kHz respectively. This process enables the generation of microstructures with nanometer precision which can be used as diffractive optical elements. The quality of these diffractive optical elements depends on various aspects, such as the design of holograms, the nFTS data pre-processing, the piezo actuator and the workpiece material.