Smoothing process of conformal vibration polishing for mid-spatial frequency errors: characteristics research and guiding prediction

By combining the conformal polishing method with short stroke vibration, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, conformal vibration polishing (CVP) method is proposed. The CVP method is expected to be an efficient means of optical processing by its high material removal rate and smoothing characteristics of mid-spatial frequency (MSF) errors. A quantitative time-domain smoothing model and a convergence factor (CFC) are presented based on the research of smoothing characteristics. The motion mechanism, material removal ability, solution, and expansion of the smoothing model are demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. The experimental results exhibited good agreement with the theoretical predictions for the proposed method. The research provides a certain theoretical foundation for parameter selection and process optimization of the CVP method. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America

Automated summary

A novel conformal vibration polishing (CVP) method is proposed by combining the conformal polishing method with short stroke vibration, showing high material removal rate and smoothing characteristics. A quantitative time-domain smoothing model and a convergence factor (CFC) are presented based on the research of smoothing characteristics, providing a theoretical foundation for parameter selection and process optimization of the CVP method. The experimental results demonstrated good agreement with the theoretical predictions, supporting the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed CVP method.