Rapid optical manufacturing of hard ceramic conformal windows and domes

Hard ceramic conformal windows and domes provide challenges to the optical fabricator. The material hardness, polycrystalline nature and non-traditional shape demand creative optical fabrication techniques to produce these types of optics cost-effectively. VIBE (TM) is a high-speed, high-pressure, conformal optical fabrication process that is capable of rapidly polishing hard ceramic materials and non-traditional shapes such as toroids and tangent ogives. This paper will overview the recent progress made to rapidly manufacture hard ceramic conformal windows and domes as well as the challenges associated with it. Results will show 10-50x increase in removal rates using the VIBE platform to polish hard ceramic materials compared to conventional methods.