Study on fast manufacturing technology for high precision aspherical optics

With the developments of optical design, testing and manufacturing technology, aspherical optics are applied more often. However, high precision aspherical optics are not widely used in many fields due to the high cost of manufacturing. In order to reduce the cost, an approach to realize the fast manufacturing of high precision aspherical optics is proposed. The bonnet polishing, computer controlled optical surfacing (CCOS) and magnetorheological finishing (MRF) are utilized in combination during the manufacturing process. Firstly, the rough polishing of the aspherical optics is accomplished by bonnet polishing. Secondly, the surface error are smoothed to reduce mid-frequency surface error by CCOS smoothing polishing equipment. Finally, the detetininistic manufacturing is carried out by MRF equipment. The fast manufacturing technology has been applied on a paraboloidal mirror of 237mm in diameter. The experimental results show that aspherical optics can reach lambda /60 (rms, @ lambda =632.8nm) in 33 hours by using the combined manufacturing technology. The fast manufacturing technology can provide high precision and high efficiency for aspherical optics.