Abstract
This paper presents results on figuring aspheric optical surfaces by Plasma Assisted Chemical Etching (PACE) demonstrating rapid, predictable convergence to the final figure. The figuring data shows better than 95% convergence of the final figure in a single operation for large spatial errors (on the order of the plasma tool size and larger) and a high efficiency for correcting errors much smaller than the tool size (mid-spatial frequency range). Automated correction of arbitrary figure errors are made from surface metrology data. This technology can be scaled from small optics, millimeters in diameter, to large optics, meters in diameter. A PACE production capability is first being developed for relatively small optics, up to 12" diameter, that can have an anamorphic shape. The central feature of PACE is control of material removal regardless of surface shape. In addition, it is capable of high removal rates for a polishing process, one to two orders of magnitude larger than conventional pitch polishing. Thus, PACE can be used for figure generation as well as final figure correction. PACE intrinsically smoothes while removing material leaving a virgin surface free of process related contamination and subsurface damage.
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