DIFFRACTIVE OPTICAL ELEMENT WITH OFF-AXIS INCIDENCE FOR STRUCTURED LIGHT APPLICATION

A structured light system may include a semiconductor laser to emit light and a diffractive optical element to diffract the light such that one or more diffracted orders of the light, associated with forming a structured light pattern, are transmitted by the diffractive optical element. The diffractive optical element may be arranged such that the light is to be incident on the diffractive optical element at a substantially non-normal angle of incidence. The substantially non-normal angle of incidence may be designed to cause the diffractive optical element to transmit a zero-order beam of the light outside of a field of view associated with the diffractive optical element.