Mar 5 2010
QED Technologies, the pioneer and exclusive provider of Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF®) and Subaperture Stitching Interferometry (SSI®), announces implementation of one of its new Aspheric Stitching Interferometers (ASI®) at the Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification (IOM) in Leipzig, Germany.
The ASI is the newest in QED’s line of full aperture metrology systems. The ASI is capable of measuring steep aspheres with as much as 1000 waves (more than 600 microns) of departure from the best fit sphere. The ASI operates without the use of dedicated null lenses or computer-generated holograms, significantly reducing the cost and lead time for producing aspheres compared to traditional methods. Aspheres are increasingly used in precision optical systems, since the use of aspheres generally results in fewer optical elements, less weight and reduced size, thereby simplifying and reducing the cost of optical systems.
IOM is a leader in its field, with more than 20 years of experience in the development of advanced sub-aperture surface figuring technologies. Recently, IOM has made significant investments in state-of-the-art surface machining and metrology equipment to support its work in surface and thin film modification. The ASI is an important addition to the IOM facility, enabling IOM to develop surface figuring and finishing steps that produce surfaces with accuracies in the nanometer range. The ASI is intended to be used by IOM specifically for precision fabrication and measurement of aspheres.
“At IOM, we put a strong emphasis on collaboration with industry, universities and other research institutes to develop new applications for the optical and semiconductor industries. With its unique performance and advanced features, we see the ASI as a key component to our research and development efforts,” said Thomas Arnold, PhD, Leader of the Young Researchers Group of the IOM.
“We are very pleased to have one of our ASIs operational at one of the leading precision engineering centers in Germany”, said Marc Tricard, Director of Business Development for QED Technologies. “In addition to IOM’s ASI in Europe, our state-of-the-art ASI metrology tools have also been deployed with other customers in Asia and North America. We believe the rapid adoption of our new ASI metrology system by customers worldwide is a testament to how this product satisfies the key performance metrics for the rapidly growing asphere metrology market, from production environment to research institutions. It also reinforces the broad compatibility of our ASI technology with a wide range of finishing technologies to produce some of the finest optical surfaces in the world.”
Source: http://www.cabotcmp.com/