New methods of fabricating gratings for deformation measurements: A review

Abstract

Gratings have been widely accepted as practical and effective deformation carriers/sensors and are commonly used in many deformation measurement methods. Since the deformation measurement sensitivity is directly proportional to the grating frequency, and the measurement accuracy is strongly affected by the grating quality. Thus, it is crucial to prepare an appropriate grating on the specimen surface that is to be measured. Over the past few decades, an increasing number of grating fabrication methods have been developed, including holographic photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam etching, nanoimprinting, soft lithography, and others. Although substantial literature regarding grating fabrication can be found, a comprehensive review is still necessary to promote the application of these methods. This review introduces the technical details and characteristics of recently developed grating fabrication methods and provides suggestions of which grating fabrication methods to use in correspondence with different deformation measurement methods. Emphasis is placed on the introduction of grating fabrication processes and the quality and applicability of the resulting gratings.