Asphere Fabrication Goes Commercial, Part III: Machines on the Market February 15, 1999 Part III of this

three-part feature discusses commercially-available equipment for asphere fabrication. By: Charles Klinger, OptiPro

Contents
Commercial asphere polishing Metrology Magneto-rheological finishing We've reviewed the glass grinding and polishing process, and the challenges involved in asphere fabrication. Now that we have had a discussion of the manufacturing techniques, the question is "What can we expect to achieve in production?" The advances made in optical fabrication in the last seven years have made it possible for aspheres to be manufactured on a quick turnaround basis. The activities and research taken place at the Center for Optics Manufacturing (COM) at the University of Rochester have produced enabling technologies that optical machinery manufacturers have adapted. The commercialization of the technology started with the OptiPro SX series of CNC controlled optical grinders, which can profile grind aspheres to a specific prescription (see Figure 7). The machining centers simplify the production of best-fit spheres. The operator sets up the machine to generate a spherical lens having the radius of the best-fit sphere by entering cutting parameters as well as the dimensions of the blank and the final part. Usually two tools will be used, one to rough out the shape rapidly, and a second to leave relatively shallow subsurface damage (SSD). Next, the machine is programmed to produce the desired aspheric surface. At OptiPro, we have found that the routines provided in a computer-aided machining (CAM) product called Mastercam work very well for controlling the fabrication machine to produce an asphere. The part shape, including the asphere equation and coefficients, are entered into Mastercam. The operator selects how the tool should approach the part and the path to be followed after finishing the part. Additional parameters having to do with tool size, tool rotation rate, traverse speed, and so on are entered. Mastercam then produces the program to actually control the OptiPro SX glass machining center. The OptiPro line of glass machining centers can generally be expected to produce ground aspheric profiles to within 1 m. It is possible to do better but this value should be taken as a general production value. Part diameters can range from 12 mm to 200 mm with both convex and concave shapes possible. top Commercial asphere polishing Grinding the appropriate shape is not the biggest challenge in asphere fabrication, however. The problem is finding a commercially-viable method for polishing and measuring the optical surface. Polishing solutions have, in the past, been developed by each organization that wanted to produce aspheres. Although the astronomical telescope industry has been a pioneer in sub-aperture polishing for many years, their solutions have not been applicable to the smaller aspheres. Recently, Precitech (Keene, NH) commercialized a product for the sub-aperture polishing of aspheres that uses conventional polishing materials and techniques. It brings to the optical shop floor a deterministic method for polishing aspheres. The aspheric polisher can handle components up to 300 mm in diameter. It appears that at the present time the practical limit for volume production is about one wave of accuracy. As experience is gained in the operation, the accuracy will be improved. The QED MRF polisher has the capability to produce surfaces down to /20 but it is unknown to this author what has been achieved in a repetitive manufacturing environment. top Metrology One user-friendly aspect of the Precitech polishing machine discussed above is its ability to accept an error curve produced by the TaylorHobson Form Talysurf profile measurement station, and correct errors to converge on the optical prescription. After a polishing run has been completed on an optic, the operator measures the surface with the Form Talysurf, and inputs to the polisher a file describing the optical surface. The system then computes a polishing run designed to compensate for those errors. The cycle of polish, measurement, and correction continues until the final specification is achieved. The TaylorHobson Form Talysurf has resolution on the order of 13 nm, but its travel range of 10 mm vertical and 120 mm horizontal may be very limiting. The author is unaware of any commercially available non-contact profile measuring stations that can be used on polished lenses without introducing inaccuracies when the surface angle to the probe beam becomes large. The total footprint taken up by the manufacturing cell described above is not large. At Photonics East '98 (Boston, MA; November 1998), OptiPro brought a complete system for commercial asphere fabrication. Consisting of an OptiPro SX100, a Precitech MF300, and a TaylorHobson Form Talysurf, the equipment fit into an exhibit space of 10 ft by 30 ft, and was capable of grinding, polishing and measuring aspheres up to 100 mm diameter. top Magneto-rheological finishing No discussion of asphere polishing equipment could be concluded without mention of the magneto-rheological finishing (MRF) process under development at the COM, and under commercialization by QED. In MRF, a special slurry containing iron and cerium oxide becomes solid in the presence of an applied magnetic field, forcing a layer of cerium oxide to the surface. The optical element is then held in contact with the stiffened fluid and the cerium oxide polishes a

spot on the lens, deterministically correcting fabrication errors. The QED MRF polisher has the capability to produce surfaces down to /20 but it is unknown to this author what has been achieved in a repetitive manufacturing environment. The strides made in the production of commercial, computer-controlled fabrication machines have made the technology available to most optics manufacturers. As aspheres become more available, the price will drop and more optical designers will make use of the advantages offered by aspheric elements. This, in turn, will create a vigorous commercial market for aspheres. top Part I (see Asphere Fabrication Goes Commercial, Part I: Grinding and Polishing) of this feature discussed the glass grinding and polishing process. Part II (see Asphere Fabrication Goes Commercial, Part II: Computer-Controlled Manufacturing) covered asphere production using computer-controlled grinding and polishing. About the author Charles Klinger is a senior applications engineer at OptiPro Systems, 6368 Dean Parkway, Ontario, NY 144519. Tel: 716-265-0160; fax :716-265-9416; e-mail: cklinger@optipro.com.