Combined figuring technology for high-precision optical surfaces using a deterministic ion beam material adding and removal method

Abstract

Abstract. We propose a deterministic figuring method for fabricating high-precision optical surfaces by combining ion beam material adding (IBA) and material removal [ion beam figuring (IBF)] technology. The IBA is first utilized to improve the accuracy and quality of the optical surface by deterministically adding material to the local pits, and then the IBF is applied to further improve the surface accuracy through removing the local protuberances. Compared with current IBF technology, this combined method can realize the uniform convergence of the surface errors and simultaneously increase the convergence rate of the figuring process. © 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Ion beam processing for ultra-smooth glass-ceramic optics

“…During the material adding process, we can maintain, and even improve, the original surface figure accuracy. 4 IBA therefore presents an advantage over conventional coating techniques. In addition, it is a feasible method for the addition of suitable material layers on extremely precise Zerodur surfaces.…”