Adaptable Diffraction Gratings With Wavefront Transformation

Diffraction gratings are optical components with regular patterns of grooves, which angularly disperse incoming light by wavelength. Traditional diffraction gratings have static planar, concave, or convex surfaces. However, if they could be made so that they can change the surface curvature at will, then they would be able to focus on particular segments, self-calibrate, or perform fine adjustments. This innovation creates a diffraction grating on a deformable surface. This surface could be bent at will, resulting in a dynamic wavefront transformation. This allows for self-calibration, compensation for aberrations, enhancing image resolution in a particular area, or performing multiple scans using different wavelengths. A dynamic grating gives scientists a new ability to explore wavefronts from a variety of viewpoints.