Superior free-standing meshes for use as infrared Fabry–Perot elements made with a new photolithographic technique

A photolithographic technique for fabrication of very smooth and highly uniform metallic, free-standing, inductive meshes, is described. The fabrication process was developed in order to produce highly reflective, low-loss Fabry–Perot étalon elements for use in the infrared spectral region. The measured rms smoothness of the grids is typically ≤30 Å. Because of their nickel core, the mechanical strength of the grids is such that they can be easily stretched flat on stainless-steel rings.