Ion Beam Figuring System for Ultra-Precise Optics

Ion beam figuring (IBF) is a novel technology for Ultra-precise optics. Material is removed from optic surface in atomic or molecular form by physical sputtering. Due to non-contact between the tool and the work piece, the problems involved in the conventional process are avoided, such as edge-effect and tool-wear. The ion beam figuring process is of high determinacy and high efficiency. All these properties make ion beam figuring one of the promising methods for producing mirrors of high precision with nm-rms accuracy. In this article, a new ion beam figuring system which contains doubled vacuum chambers is set up. Optics can be exchanged by a transport vehicle shuttling between the two vacuum chambers without opening the primary vacuum chamber and waiting for the ion source to cool completely, which means the efficiency can be increased greatly. A high performance processing robot contains three linear axes and two angular axes of motion, providing 5-axis ion source positioning capability with high accuracy. The angle can be up to 50 degrees to figure very steep spherical and aspherical surfaces. Then, the beam removal function of Gaussian shape is obtained by an experimental method and it is extremely stable for a long time. Finally, two sample mirrors are figured by the ion beam figuring system: one is a fused silica flat mirror with a 100 mm diameter (90% effective aperture) and an ultra-precise flat mirror with a surface error of 0.89 nm rms, 14.7 nm PV is obtained; the other fused silica concave spherical mirror with a 100 mm aperture (90% effective aperture) and 420 mm radius of curvature is figured and a concave spherical mirror with 1 nm rms, 16.9 nm PV is obtained, which prove that the ion beam figuring system is favourable for the figuring process.