Optical Polishing Using Fiber Based Tools

Novel, polymer based fiber tools were utilized to polish BK7 glass. Initial tests with these tools investigated the factors affecting the material removal rates. Fiber type and count, polishing pressure and tool rotational speed were all found to affect the removal rates. Abrasive particle size affects the effective contact length whereby smaller particles resulted in narrower tool processing widths. On a sample with an imparted sinusoidal pattern (amplitude = 100 nm, wavelength = 2 mm), it was found that the surface roughness on the higher regions were higher than the lower regions thus emphasizing the importance of the fiber-abrasive interaction.