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Optical Surfaces

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Optical Surfaces

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The lens application drives the requirements for surface irregularity and surface quality. When preservation of wavefront is critical, λ/4 to λ/8 irregularity should be selected; when wavefront is not as important as cost, λ/2 irregularity can be used. For surface quality, the tighter the scratch-dig specification the lower the scatter. For demanding laser and imaging systems 20-10 to 40-20, scratch-dig is best. For applications where low scatter is not as critical as cost, 60-40 scratch-dig can be used.Surface quality and surface irregularity need to be clearly defined in order to meet the damage threshold, wavefront and low-scatter requirements. Surface quality describes the level of imperfections that can be visually noted on the surface of an optical component. These imperfections consist of scratches, dig (little pits), sleeks (tiny scratches), bubbles, edge chips, and coating blemishes. In some cases these defects are small and do not affect system performance, thus are generally called “cosmetic surface quality” or “beauty specifications”. They also indicate the level of workmanship in the part and even if the performance is not affected, these defects dramatically affect customer satisfaction.

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