About This Webinar
As our understanding of optical surface dynamics has improved, the definition of what constitutes a superpolished surface has evolved, although an exact definition is still debated and varies, depending on the manufacturer. By careful management of process variables, extremely smooth surfaces with subangstrom roughness and no subsurface damage have been demonstrated in both glass and crystalline materials. Applications for optics with these characteristics are found in automotive, defense, medical, and industrial domains. Of even greater importance is the identification of tools and procedures able to provide accurate and reliable measurements of subangstrom surfaces.
Jayson Nelson and Shawn Iles detail techniques to optimize the performance of an optical profiler and explain the critical importance of understanding the spatial frequency bandwidth that defines the roughness value. Surfaces with measured roughness well below 1.0 Å have consistently been demonstrated on fused silica, NBK-7, single-crystal silicon, and calcium fluoride materials. Nelson and Iles cover the processes used to achieve these results, along with basic metrology methods for producing reliable subangstrom measurements.
***This presentation premiered during the 2021
Photonics Spectra Conference Optics track. For information on upcoming Photonics Media events,
see our event calendar here.
About Jayson Nelson
Jayson Nelson is the Manufacturing Technology Manager at Edmund Optics' Tucson, AZ, USA office. He has been working in optics and related industries for over 40 years and is known for his work with precision glass molding of oxide and chalcogenide glasses, and development of ultra-low roughness surfaces on a range of amorphous and crystalline materials. Nelson holds degrees in Mechanical Technology, Physics, and Imaging Science, and is the author of eight US Patents and several publications. He is on the board of directors for OEOSC, a member of SPIE and OSA, an adjunct Research Professor at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences, and President of J&T Molding Solutions, LLC.
About Shawn Iles
Shawn Iles is an Optical Manufacturing Engineer working in the Tucson R&D lab at Edmund Optics. His primary focus is in advanced optical fabrication and metrology solutions, but he also works on predictive modeling, tooling design, and data analysis. He has a degree in optical engineering from the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences and is the author of one US and European patent and several publications.