Measurement of Long-Term Dimensional Stability of Glass Ceramics Using a High-Precision Line Scale Calibration System

Abstract

Length measurement was conducted for two years on glass ceramics, Zerodur®and Clearceram®, which have a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and on synthetic quartz. Commercially available glass ceramics were used for evaluating long-term stability, or secular change. Synthetic quartz ensured longterm length measurement stability. Two line scales of 300 mm length made of each material for a total of six line scales were simultaneously manufactured and measured to evaluate dimensional stability variation of the materials over time. Measurements were conducted with a line scale calibration systemdeveloped by Nikon. The calibration system is a onedimensional laser interferometer, featuring reduced Abbe’s errors, laser interferometer paths in a vacuum and real-time wavelength calibration of laser frequency using a 633 nm iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser. Long-term quartz stability was 4.3 nm and 5.4 nm (2σ). The yearly stability coefficients of the two glassceramic scales were -0.22 and -0.23 parts per million per year (ppm/yr) for Zerodur and -0.16 and -0.16 ppm/yr for Clearceram. No significant difference in stability between the two scales was observed for Zerodur or Clearceram.