A fluid-mechanical model is developed for the float-polishing process. In this model laminar flow between the sample and the lap results in pressure gradients at the grooves that support the sample on a fluid layer. The laminar fluid motion also produces supersmooth, damage-free surfaces. Quartz substrates for applications in high-stress environments were float polished, and their surfaces were analyzed by optical scatterometry, photoacoustic spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The removal of 100 pum of material by a lapping-polishing process, with final float polishing, left low levels of subsurface damage, with a surface roughness of approximately 0.2-nm rms.

The light drag in a rotating fused-silica disk inserted in a He-Ne ring laser was measured at X = 633 nm and found to be a, = 0.5424 with an rms error (lcr) of +2X10 4, including the known error sources. This constitutes a tenfold improvement in accuracy over a previous result. %'hile the given error margin does not include the value given by the Lorentz drag in a linear arrangement, aLp = 0.54182 the measured difference of 2cr is deemed too small to claim a discrepancy.

No abstract

Articles you may be interested inEffect of pressure on dc planar magnetron sputtering of platinum J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 21, 572 (2003); 10.1116/1.1564027 Modeling reactive sputtering process in symmetrical planar direct current magnetron systems J. Appl. Phys. 71, 5173 (1992); 10.1063/1.350573Effect of process parameters on properties of YBCO thin films deposited by offaxis planar magnetron sputtering AIP Conf.

The application of total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM) to the inspection of subwavelength optical features on surfaces has been well documented.1–3 This paper discusses recent experiments testing the feasibility of using TIRM to study dielectric coatings in the nucleation stage. Samples were coated with thin films of different thicknesses to allow optical scattering levels to be determined as a function of coating thickness. An increase was observed in scatter levels with increasing coating thickness, and is assumed to be related to thin film microstructure. Thus, TIRM provides a means of detecting film defects in the early stages of coating growth, as well as identifying possible precursors to nodules that are often observed in thin and thick films.