Fields of application for laser beam polishing of optical glasses

摘要： Conventional manufacturing of freeform optics is expensive and elaborate. The laser beam as a polishing tool offers the possibility to produce optical surfaces fast and effective. The aim of new research on laser beam polishing of optical glasses is to achieve a polished surface finish irrespective of the surface geometrics. The carbon dioxide laser is applied to process pre-machined specimen with different roughness’s. During the polishing process an infrared camera is necessary to monitor the temperature on the surface. An annealing process reduces the process-related tensions. In addition, the cleaning process is investigated to minimize the surface damages. To characterize the surface topographic a white-light interferometer and a stylus instrument are applied. Laser beam polishing of minerals glasses such as N-BK7?, BF33? and fused silica enables surface roughness of less than Ra < 5 nm by form maintenance. By means of self-design setup, the adaption of laser beam polishing on glass cylinders, lenses or freeform is possible. As a result a parallel laser beam with a diameter of 12.65 mm is applied to process tilted surfaces up to 45°. With a laser parameter modulation, the angle-dependent absorption depending on the intensity of the laser radiation is considered.