Deterministic precision finishing of domes and conformal optics

Aric Shorey; William Kordonski; Marc Tricard

doi:10.1117/12.607456

18 May 2005 Deterministic precision finishing of domes and conformal optics

Aric Shorey, William Kordonski, Marc Tricard

Proceedings Volume 5786, Window and Dome Technologies and Materials IX; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.607456
Event: Defense and Security, 2005, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

In order to enhance missile performance, future window and dome designs will incorporate shapes with improved aerodynamic performance compared with the more traditional flats and spheres. Due to their constantly changing curvature and steep slopes, these shapes are incompatible with most conventional polishing and metrology solutions. Two types of a novel polishing technology, Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF^®) and Magnetorheological (MR) Jet, could enable cost-effective manufacturing of free-form optical surfaces. MRF, a deterministic sub-aperture magnetically assisted polishing method, has been developed to overcome many of the fundamental limitations of traditional finishing. MRF has demonstrated the ability to produce complex optical surfaces with accuracies better than 30 nm peak-to-valley (PV) and surface micro-roughness less than 1 nm rms on a wide variety of optical glasses, single crystals, and glass-ceramics. The polishing tool in MRF perfectly conforms to the optical surface making it well suited for finishing this class of optics. A newly developed magnetically assisted finishing method MR Jet^TM, addresses the challenge of finishing the inside of steep concave domes and other irregular shapes. An applied magnetic field coupled with the properties of the MR fluid allow for stable removal rate with stand-off distances of tens of centimeters. Surface figure and roughness values similar to traditional MRF have been demonstrated. Combining these technologies with metrology techniques, such as Sub-aperture Stitching Interferometer (SSI^®) and Asphere Stitching Interferometer (ASI^®), enable higher precision finishing of the windows and domes today, as well as the finishing of future conformal designs.

Citation Download Citation

Aric Shorey, William Kordonski, and Marc Tricard "Deterministic precision finishing of domes and conformal optics", Proc. SPIE 5786, Window and Dome Technologies and Materials IX, (18 May 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.607456

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available