Edge effect in fluid jet polishing

The edge effect is one of the most important subjects in optical manufacturing. The removal function at different positions of the sample in the process of fluid jet polishing (FJP) is investigated in the experiments. Furthermore, by using finite-element analysis (FEA), the distributions for velocity and pressure of slurry jets are simulated. Experimental results demonstrate that the removal function has a ringshaped profile, except for a little change in the size at the operated area even if the nozzle extends beyond the edge of the sample. FEA simulations reveal a similar distribution of velocity with a cavity resulting in the ring-shaped profile of material removal at different impact positions. To a certain extent, therefore, the removal function at the edge of the surface of the sample appears similar to that inside of it, so that the classical edge effect can be neglected in FJP. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.