Ultrafast laser stress figuring for accurate deformation of thin mirrors
Affiliation
James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2022
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA)Citation
Chalifoux, B. D., Laverty, K. A., & Arnold, I. J. (2022). Ultrafast laser stress figuring for accurate deformation of thin mirrors. Optics Express, 30(11), 17767–17780.Journal
Optics ExpressRights
Copyright © 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Fabricating freeform mirrors relies on accurate optical figuring processes capable of arbitrarily modifying low-spatial frequency height without creating higher-spatial frequency errors. We present a scalable process to accurately figure thin mirrors using stress generated by a focused ultrafast laser. We applied ultrafast laser stress figuring (ULSF) to four thin fused silica mirrors to correct them to 10-20 nm RMS over 28 Zernike terms, in 2-3 iterations, without significantly affecting higher-frequency errors. We measured the mirrors over a month and found that dielectric-coated mirrors were stable but stability of aluminum-coated mirrors was inconclusive. The accuracy and throughput for ULSF is on par with existing deterministic figuring processes, yet ULSF doesn’t significantly affect mid-spatial frequency errors, can be applied after mirror coating, and can scale to higher throughput using mature laser processing technologies. ULSF offers new potential to rapidly and accurately shape freeform mirrors. © 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing AgreementNote
Open access journalISSN
1094-4087Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1364/OE.456679