Optical Engineering
Surface Finishing of Complex Optics
Advanced optical designs require shapes and materials that are challenging to finish. As designs become more intricate, new fabrication tools are needed. We discuss advanced surface-finishing methods, particularly methods that rely on the magnetorheological finishing process, a stable polishing technology that enables precision fabrication of flats and spheres as well as increasingly complex optics, such as aspheres and freeform shapes.
Opticians have a number of tools that allow for the manufacture of spherical and flat optics with precision of λ/4 peak-to-valley figure error and less than 1 nm microroughness. However, manufacturing aspheres to the same level of quality is more difficult. The tools are completely different, and every aspect of meeting the specification (low-, mid-, and high-frequency error and surface roughness) poses significant challenges.
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