1.  Home
  2. Whitepapers
  3. Replica Gratings vs. Master Gratings

Replica Gratings vs. Master Gratings

Download Whitepaper

Replica Gratings vs. Master Gratings

Download Whitepaper
Replica gratings are made by the replication process – they are resin castings of master gratings. The master gratings themselves, though, are not castings: their grooves are created either by burnishing (in the case of ruled gratings) or by optical exposure and chemical development (in the case of holographic gratings).Replica gratings are composed of a metallic coating on a resin layer, which itself rests on a substrate (usually glass). Master gratings also usually have glass substrates but have no resin (the grooves of a ruled master are contained entirely within a metallic layer on the substrate, and those of a holographic master are contained entirely within a layer of photoresist or similar photosensitive material).The differences in manufacturing processes for master gratings and replica gratings naturally provide an advantage in both production time and unit cost to replica gratings, thereby explaining their popularity, but the replication process itself must be designed and carried out to ensure that the performance characteristics of the replicated grating match those of the master grating.

Download Whitepaper Now