In the optical systems field, key components such as spectroscopic elements often require the use of optical materials with high-refractive indices to achieve miniaturization and lightweight characteristics. However, high-refractive index optical materials have low machinability due to their brittle characteristic. In this study, we investigated the changes in surface characteristics during precision pattern machining of high-refractive index materials; specifically, a low fracture toughness, for use in grating spectroscopic elements. The experiment involved diamond turning for the primary machining, and for the secondary pattern machining, the tool rake angle, tool feed rate, and depth of cut were set as variable conditions. Surface roughness measurements and surface quality analyses were carried out using a white-light interferometer and tool microscopy. The results provide insights into the influence of conditions on the surface properties during the machining of high-refractive index materials for grating spectroscopic components. Under the machining conditions with a tool rake angle of -65o, tool feed rate of 5,000 mm/min, and a depth of cut 10 nm, the surface roughness of Ra 8.0 nm was achieved. Based on these findings, we plan to conduct further research on the mechanical fabrication of the blaze angle for grating spectroscopic components.

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) is a widely used material in far-infrared and near-infrared imaging systems due to its exceptional optical transmittance properties. Through a hot isostatic compression process, during manufacturing, ZnS undergoes crystal structure modifications, resulting in increased transmittance across the visible and infrared spectra. However, ZnS exhibits low fracture toughness and irregular crystal orientations, making it prone to brittle fracture during the conventional cutting processes. Such brittleness often leads to surface defects that scatter light, diminishing optical transmittance. Therefore, understanding the conditions conducive to ductile processing is critical and necessitates a thorough brittle fracture analysis. This study introduces a novel quantitative analysis method to determine the occurrence of ductile processing and brittle fracture in ZnS materials after the turning process. To validate the efficacy of this approach, experimental machining was conducted through diamond turning and magnetorheological fluid polishing processes. Subsequently, a comprehensive quantitative assessment of brittle fracture was performed. Additionally, the relationship between brittle fracture and optical transmittance was explored using the proposed analysis method.

Here in, a high-quality automotive camera lens was developed based on an ultra-precision diamond turning core and cyclic olefin polymer (COP) injection molding process. To improve surface roughness and achieve the accuracy of plastic injection molding lens, systematic mold core machining process was developed and demonstrated using the diamond turning machine. The cutting tool path was generated by using NanoCAM 2D, and it was partly revised to prevent interference between the cutting tool and the workpiece. After the initial machining using the generated tool path, the compensation-cutting process was conducted based on the measured surface profile of an initially machined surface. After two times of compensation machining, the fabricated core mold showed a shape error of 100 nm between peak to valley (PV) and Arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of 3.9 nm. The performance of the fabricated core was evaluated using an injection molding test. Injection molded aspheric plastic lens showed contrasts that were higher than 55% at 0.0 F, 30% at 0.3 F, and 20% at 0.7 F without any moiré phenomenon that meets the specification for automotive vision module with 1MP and 140° field of view.

We present Error Compensation Software (ECS) which uses a decic polynomial model and three-dimensional surface measurement data for the fabrication of high precision freeform mirrors. ECS is designed based on a graphic user interface that includes an error calculation mechanism and surface distribution maps, and it accepts the Ultrahigh Accurate 3D Profilometer (UA3P) measurement data of the fabricated mirror surface. It exports surface coefficients and tool paths for the Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) machine which allows engineers to utilize the software during the compensation process. The ECS is based on Visual C++ and runs on the Windows operating system. The error compensation process with ECS has been applied to the 90 mm diameter aluminum freeform mirrors for usage in view infrared satellites, and the root mean square and peak-to-valley surface errors were reduced from 1.52 to 0.11 μm, and from 7.05 to 1.99 μm, respectively, satisfying the requirement of the infrared camera.