Fabrication of an improved gray-scale mask for refractive micro- and meso-optics

An experiment was performed on a new gray-scale mask material. The mask material is carbon based and has high attenuation in the deep ultraviolet spectral range. The experiment involves making a gray-scale mask for an axicon. Preliminary results show that gray-scale profiles of accurate transmittance functions can be fabricated. Potentially, the capability at deep ultraviolet wavelengths will allow the fabrication of high-resolution components. The high-attenuation characteristic will allow the production of microscale and mesoscale optics of more phase levels.