A deformable accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) is disclosed, where the IOL comprises a diffractive kinoform-like grating pattern on one or both of the anterior or posterior surfaces of the deformable IOL. The capsular bag of the eye exerts a distorting force on the IOL, changing its power and allowing for accommodation. The focal length variation obtained by the change in curvature of the refractive surface of the IOL is enhanced by the kinoform-like diffractive grating pattern in combination with the traditional refractive surface. The focal length variation obtained by stretching and shrinking of the diffractive pattern adds considerable power variation independent of the refractive index of the material used to make the IOL.
