Holographic Grating Study. Volume 1

The two primary goals of the study were to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating low and high-efficiency ion-machined holographic gratings and, by means of optical analysis, to establish their suitability for use in practical high-energy laser systems. Both of these goals were achieved. The principal results of the study are summarized below: fabrication techniques for both low-efficiency and high-efficiency nonlinear holographic gratings were successfully demonstrated; the feasibility of producing high-efficiency holographic gratings, with respect to both design and fabrication, was established; the feasibility of designing aberration-corrected holographic gratings was demonstrated; several important optical configurations utilizing holographic gratings were analyzed in terms of their aberrations, as a function of various distortions and component tolerances; and Two major HEL system applications of holographic gratings were investigated in depth: (a) a primary mirror holographic grating beam sampler for LOS or wavefront control; and (b) a holographic grating axicon for use as a mode-control device in an annular resonator. See also Volume 2, ADB037169. Sponsored in part by the DARPA.