Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) ? in general a complex pattern of micro- and nano-scale structures ? can modulate and transform light in a predetermined way. Their importance is being increased nowadays because they can be designed to handle a number of simultaneous tasks. In view point of machining DOEs, it is a big challenge to fabricate micro- and nano-scale structures on a free-form surfaces. In this paper, the state-of-the-art of the ultra-precision machine tools is reviewed. Also some technical issues which determine the machine tool accuracy are discussed.
