Rapid Finishing of Optics

The objective of this Phase I is to develop a high quality, high speed, cost effective technique for polishing silicon carbide mirrors that are machined using single point diamond turning methods. The finished optic should have a more perfectly polished surface with uniform shape and thickness than is presently being produced. We will achieve this by using two different approaches, a novel non-contact approach and a second approach that will use micro-contact pressure in the presence of centrifugal forces to smooth the surfaces. Optical characterization will be performed on the polished samples and will be correlated to the as single point diamond turned SiC samples. In Phase II, we propose extending this technique to large optical surfaces by either specially designing or adapting existing manufacturing systems. Coordination has already been initiated with several manufacturers for scale up and testing in Phase II leading to commercialization in Phase III. This technique can be used for other applications involving optical components such as laser cavity mirrors, laser beam mirrors, lenses for telescopes, windows with high optical transmission, optoelectronic detectors, photo detectors, and high power devices.