Efficiency-achromatized reflective dispersion grating by a double-blaze configuration: Theoretical conditions for optimal material selection

Blazed gratings are key components both for imaging and for spectrally analyzing optical systems. However, the blazing effect is very sensitive towards wavelength variations. Double-blazed gratings overcome this disadvantage but have been investigated up to now only for transmission geometries. Here we present a systematical theoretical analysis of the diffraction efficiency of double-blazed gratings in the reflection geometry. We find appropriate conditions for a systematical material selection to achieve efficiency-achromatized blazed gratings, based on fundamental dispersion parameters such as the Abbe’s number and relative partial dispersion of the materials. We discuss how to keep the profile heights as shallow as possible. Therefore, appropriate material combinations which are suitable for spectral blazed gratings have to be found