On-axis diffractive elements with improved signal quality in the presence of fabrication errors and wavelength tolerances

The optical function of diffractive elements is usually strongly dependent on systematic fabrication errors as well as the illumination wavelength which do not only affect the diffraction efficiency but also the intensity distribution in the signal region. In the paper a design and fabrication method for on-axis diffractive elements with significantly improved signal quality in the presence of wavelength changes and fabrication tolerances is discussed. An example of an experimentally realized beam shaper is presented.