Top-hat and Gaussian laser beam smoothing of ground fused silica surface

Abstract

Laser smoothing is a promising technique for processing optical glass due non-contact characteristics and easy-adaptability to non-spherical surfaces. The smoothing effects of CO2 laser of top-hat and Gaussian intensity on ground fused silica surfaces were examined in the work. The results show that ground surface with surface micro-roughness of 500 nm (RMS) can be smoothed to <0.5 nm (RMS) with both intensity profiles. Best surface roughness rises with increasing power density of laser and therefore lower power density combined with slow scanning speed is favored to improve surface quality. Numerical model was established to investigate thermal and hydrodynamic transient process to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Simulations show that smoothing process takes place at the same time as the temperature rises due to ever-decreasing viscosity of fused silica. Beam shaping is able to reduce peak power density of high power processing laser and smoothing efficiency might be increased without the loss of the processed quality of glass.