A Study on Length Traceability and Diffraction Efficiency of Chromium Gratings

Abstract

Measurement traceability is a prerequisite for achieving accurate and reliable results as well as technical standardization. The period of Chromium (Cr) gratings fabricated by atomic lithography can be directly traced back to natural constants. Applying the Cr grating to grating interferometry can achieve nanometer measurement traceability. This research aims to analyze the diffraction efficiency characteristics of self-traceable Cr gratings to provide a theoretical basis for the fabrication and application of Cr gratings. In this regard, we establish the theoretical model of the laser beam incident angle and grating diffraction efficiency using the rigorous coupled-wave method. Then, we analyze the influence of the laser beam incident angle on grating diffraction efficiency by simulation, verify the accuracy of the theoretical model, and finally build a measurement system for grating diffraction efficiency. Through experiments, we find that the diffraction efficiency of the grating shows a rapid increase to reach a stable maximum value followed by a decrease, when a laser beam with a wavelength of 405 nm is incident on the surface of a self-traceable grating in Transverse Magnetic (TM) polarization and the incident angle changes within an effective range. The experimental results are consistent with the trend of theoretical calculation results.