In-process monitoring of grinding and polishing of optical surfaces

A new tool with which to monitor the quality (roughness and subsurface damage) of optical surfaces during grinding and polishing, intensity-detecting total internal reflection microscopy (iTIRM), is presented. A general description of the new measurement method is given, followed by a description of the experimental in situ measurement setup. Experimental results of the method are presented that demonstrate that iTIRM can be used either to control the roughness-reduction process during production or to investigate the process itself. The possibility of implementing the method in an optical workshop is discussed. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 120.4290, 120.6660, 220.4610, 220.4840, 220.5450.