Review article

Journal of Micromanufacturing
1–19
Review of several precision finishing © The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/2516598418777315
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Gourhari Ghosh1, Ajay Sidpara1, P. P. Bandyopadhyay1

Abstract
The ultrasmooth optical components with atomic-order surface roughness and nanometre-level shape accuracy are in
immense demand with the rapid advancement of modern optical technology. In recent years, aspherical and free-form sur-
faces are gaining more interest for its favorable properties. Moreover, the new optical materials with immensely enhanced
mechanical properties are being developed to meet the stringent requirements of modern optics. Fabrication of com-
plex-shaped ultrasmooth optical components becomes a significant challenge as conventional finishing techniques are unable
to machine aspherical or free-form surfaces precisely. This situation demands some highly deterministic finishing processes.
Mostly, the optical components are fabricated by shaping or pre-finishing methods followed by final finishing processes. In
the shaping or pre-finishing methods, the rigid abrasive tools are used to remove the material at an enhanced rate and near
net shape of the elements can be attained. Surface finish and shape accuracy can also be improved to some extent. Owing
to the presence of residual finishing marks generated by shaping methods, the application of the components is limited to
the infrared (IR) optics. Final finishing processes include more deterministic and flexible polishing techniques that can achieve
desired surface finish, figure accuracy and surface integrity to make it suitable for shorter wavelength applications. In recent
years, single point diamond turning, precision grinding, plasma chemical vaporization machining and magnetorheological flu-
id-based finishing are widely used for fabricating ultrasmooth optics. In this article, principle, mechanism of material removal
and applicability of the aforementioned precision finishing processes to different materials are discussed.

Keywords
Optics fabrication, diamond turning, precision finishing, surface roughness, shape accuracy

Introduction properties as well as to improve the performance of optical

In recent days, the leading fields in science and technology
demand of ultrasmooth optical components for many appli-
cations. Ultraprecision optical components are widely used
in microelectromechanical system (MEMS), semiconductor
industry, synchrotron beamline, astronomical telescopes, def-
ence equipment, etc.1,2Moreover, high power laser systems,
extreme ultraviolet lithography systems (EUVL) and syn-
chrotron radiation beamline demand less than 1 Å surface
roughness and nanometre-level shape accuracy.3,4 Therefore,
fabrication of ultraprecision optical components becomes the
major priority for the optical manufacturers.
Optical components are the heart of an optical system.
Figure 1 shows the characteristics of optical components and
their effect on the performance of the components.5 The prop-
components.6,7 SSD has a detrimental effect on the stability
of the optical system and image quality.2
The imaging quality of the optical components is also
significantly affected by geometrical aberrations. The aspher-
ical optical components can improve the image quality by
correcting the spherical aberrations. Furthermore, multiple
optical components can be replaced by a single asphere to
reduce the size and weight of the system, and that leads to the
improvement of the image quality also.6,8 Characteristics of
the optical components also rely on its atomic structure and
chemical composition. Optical materials can be subdivided
into following groups.9,10.
Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology
1

erties of the optical component have a significant impact on
the direction of propagation, the intensity and the polarization
state of light rays.6 The fabrication techniques are selected
carefully to create an ultrasmooth surface without any sur-
face or subsurface damage (SSD) to maintain the desirable
Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Corresponding author:
Ajay Sidpara, Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India.
Email: ajaymsidpara@mech.iitkgp.ernet.in
2 Journal of Micromanufacturing
1. Crystalline materials (sapphire, calcium fluoride
[CaF2], germanium [Ge], silicon [Si], etc.)
2. Glasses (BK7, fused silica, etc.)
3. Low thermal expansion materials (Ultra low expan-
sion [ULE], Clearceram, Zerodur, etc.)
4. Advanced ceramics (ALON, spinel, zinc sele-
nide [ZnSe], cordierite, silicon carbide (SiC), zinc
sulphide [ZnS], etc.)
5. Metals (aluminium [Al], copper [Cu] or GlidCop
with electroless nickel coating, etc.)
Low thermal expansion materials such as ULE glass and
Zerodur are mostly used in extreme ultraviolet lithography
Figure 1. Characteristics of optical components.
Table 1. Optical materials and its application.
Optical components Material
Precision lenses Zinc selenide (ZnSe), zinc sulphide
(ZnS), germanium (Ge), silicon (Si)
Synchrotron mirror Single crystal silicon, Zerodur, fused
silica, ultra low expansion glass (ULE),
SiC, Cu and Al with electroless Ni layer
EUVL mirror ULE, Zerodur
Optical windows and ZnSe, ZnS, Ge, common glasses, fused
flats silica, glass ceramics
Waveplates Crystal quartz, magnesium fluoride
(MgF2)
Infrared Optics ZnSe, ZnS, Ge, calcium fluoride (CaF2),
MgF2, Si, sapphire
(EUVL) system as they can retain their properties under the
influence of high heat flux.11 Single crystal silicon becomes
most prominent material for front-end optics in synchrotron
beamline owing to its high heat conductivity, low degradation
quality and low thermal expansion coefficient. Zerodur, fused
silica and metal mirror made of aluminium, copper with elec-
troless Ni-coating can be used where beam exposure is not
much intensive.12,13 Recently, beryllium (Be) is gaining inter-
est for the space optics for its light weight and high strength.
Chemical vapor deposited (CVD) silicon carbide mirrors are
widely used for astronomical applications.12 Optical materials
for manufacturing optical components and its application are
given in Table 1.
Application
Dental imaging, dermatology, endoscopy, lasers, machine vision
inspection, metrology, projection, surveillance, thermal imaging.
Synchrotron beamline, X-ray free electron laser (XFEL).
EUVL lithography, high-order harmonics applications.
Biomedical instrumentation, corrosive chemistry, infrared (IR)
imaging, laser cavities, machine vision, multiphoton imaging.
Aerospace, astronomy, biomedical, military, optical isolation,
remote sensing, semiconductor metrology, spectroscopy, surveil-
lance.
Hyperspectral imaging, IR microscopy, laser scanning microscopy,
range finding, surveillance, target identification, thermal imaging.
(Table 1 Contianued)
Ghosh et al.
(Table 1 Contianued)
Optical components Material
Optical Domes ZnSe, ZnS, Ge
Precision Mirrors Metallic coating: Gold (Au), Platinum
(Pt), Al others
Sources: https://goochandhousego.com/product-categories/precisionoptics (accessed 25 December 2017); http://www.standaphotonics.com/off-axis-mir-
rors/synchrotron-radiation-and-extra-uv-mirrors.php1 (accessed 25 December 2017).
Figure 2. Precision finishing processes for fabrication of optical components.
SPDT: single point diamond turning, ASJM: abrasive slur-
ry jet machining, NCJM: nanoparticle colloid jet machining,
SAG: shape adaptive grinding, ERF: electrorheological finish-
ing, MRF: magnetorheological finishing, EAMF: electrolytic
abrasive mirror finishing, HECM: hydroxyl electrochemical
machining, CMP: chemomechanical polishing, IBF: ion beam
figuring, PJCE: plasma jet chemical etching, PCVM: plasma
chemical vaporization machining.
Since 1980, many polishing techniques have been devel-
oped to meet the demand of optics fabrication. Many conven-
tional finishing processes were used previously to perform
initial finishing of the components. However, they are unable
to generate and polish aspherical or free-form surfaces owing
to the lack of determinism, long interactive time and unsta-
ble convergence in the process. Furthermore, a large rigid tool
cannot fit with the very small and steep curvatures of the sur-
faces. Surface or subsurface defects such as dislocations and
micro cracks cannot be avoided as the material is removed
through the plastic deformation or brittle fracture.16,17 Figure 2
shows the classification of the precision finishing techniques
based on their working principle. In mechanical precision fin-
ishing processes, the abrasive particles interact with the work
surface either as a rigid tool or a tool with flexible backing,
or with a fluid medium. In electrorheological/magnetorhe-
ological (ER/MR) fluid-based processes, ER or MR fluid is
used for finishing. A suitable chemical etchant for a particular
3
Application
Seeker head optics, submersibles, underwater cameras, missiles.
Laser cavities, laser range finders, target designators.
material is used for finishing in electrochemical/chemical fin-
ishing processes. The hybrid finishing technique combines the
working principle of many processes.
In past years, a new finishing process, namely comput-
er-controlled polishing (CCP) has been developed to finish the
complex-shaped surface efficiently. The CCP is a well-defined,
deterministic material removal process with sub-aperture and
conformal finishing tool. The small polishing tool enables the lo-
cal material removal from the surface. The polishing procedure
is evaluated prior to the processing based on the residual surface
profile errors and material removal function (i.e., influence func-
tion). Material removal is controlled by varying the dwell time.
Greater material removal is achieved by moving the polishing
tool slowly over the surface and vice versa.18
The overview of the technique, material removal
mechanism, process parameters, advantage and limitation,
and the applicability of deterministic micro/ultraprecision
grinding, ion beam figuring (IBF), nanoparticle colloid jet
machining (NCJM) and elastic emission machining (EEM)
are reported previously in detail by Ghosh et al.19 In this
present study, principle, mechanism of material removal
and applicability to different materials of single point dia-
mond turning (SPDT), precision grinding, plasma chemical
vaporization machining (PCVM) and ER/MR fluid-based
finishing processes are discussed.
4 Journal of Micromanufacturing
Precision finishing techniques used for
fabrication of optical components
Multiple finishing processes are often required to finish the
components suitably. Fabrication of super smooth optical
components consists of shaping or pre-finishing mode
followed by final finishing mode. Near net shape can be
imparted by shaping or pre-finishing mode where the surface
roughness and form error are reduced to some acceptable
level. In this study, SPDT and precision grinding with elec-
trolytic in-process dressing (ELID) are discussed as shaping
or pre-finishing processes. The final polishing of the optical
components is performed using more deterministic and flex-
ible finishing processes to achieve the desired level of surface
roughness, form accuracy and without any SSD. PCVM and
ER/MR fluid-based finishing are discussed as the final step
polishing of optical components.
Single point diamond turning (SPDT)
SPDT of optics was started in 1960, but it became an impor-
tant fabrication technique for optical components after 1970.
Even though it looks like a normal lathe operation (mostly
facing), the machine is equipped with nanometric controller
accuracies, fast machining algorithm and sophisticated auxil-
iary system.20 SPDT is a precision machining technique
and has the ability to produce an aspherical or free-form
surface with deterministic form accuracy. It is performed
by engaging a single point diamond tool in a high preci-
sion lathe under controlled environment.21 The efficiency of
this process depends on the stiffness of the machine, accu-
racy of feedback control system with laser metrology and
reliability of single crystal diamond tool.22 Diamond turning
machine must be stiff enough to avoid the effect of vibration
or other external disturbances on the cutting tool movement.
A schematic diagram of a diamond turning machine is shown
in Figure 3.20 To produce high quality optical components,
the cutting tool should move precisely, and it should be sharp
Figure 4. Fishbone diagram of process parameters affecting SPDT operation.
enough without any defects.23 Lower cutting force is expected
as the feed and depth of cut are much lower as compared to
the conventional machining. It has the ability to finish metal
such as Cu and Al to achieve nanometre-range surface rough-
ness and figure accuracy. Furthermore, high stiffness, accu-
racy and lower cutting force associated with the diamond
turning machine make it suitable for precision finishing of
brittle materials. Figure 4 shows the fishbone diagram of
parameters that have a significant effect on surface rough-
ness and form accuracy.Chip removal mechanism of brittle
material in diamond turning can be classified into two modes:
one is plastic deformation along the slip plane and the other
is cleavage fracture on cleavage plane as shown in Figure 5.22
The mode of material removal mechanism depends on the
resolved shear stress on slip plane (Figure 5 (a)) and the tensile
stress on the cleavage plane (Figure 5 (b)). The densities of the
defects and dislocation have a significant effect on the critical
values of cleavage and plastic deformation. In case of brittle
materials, the critical value of fracture depends on the size of
the stress field only as the density of defects which leads to the
cleavage is small. Besides the density of the dislocations in a
small stress field is also enough to cause the plastic deforma-
tion.24 Figure 6 shows chip removal model with a size effect.
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of diamond turning machine.
Ghosh et al. 5

When the depth of cut is very small, the size of the crit-
ical stress field is sufficiently small to avoid the initiation of
cleavage failure which starts from the defects. Hence, the
brittle–ductile transition of material removal mechanism
may take place when the uncut chip thickness is small.
Figure 7. It is observed that the region of plastic deforma-
tion is separated from the region of brittle fracture by a crit-
ical chip thickness (dc). Plastic deformation is predominant
below (dc) and microfracture is dominant above (dc). It is
conceived that the microfracture damage is initiated at
the critical chip thickness (dc) and it propagates to a depth
(yc). The ductile-mode machining is executed until the
microfracture damage penetrates the machined surface. The
remaining fracture damages in the uncut shoulder, which do
not penetrate the machined surface, can be removed during
subsequent tool passes.27

(a)    (b)
Figure 5. Model of chip removal: (a) plastic deformation on slip
plane and (b) cleavage fracture on cleavage plane.
Source: Nakasuji et al.22

Figure 7. Model for ductile-regime machining.

Source: Blackley and Scattergood.27

Hence, it can be concluded that the brittle materials which

(a)    (b)
Figure 6. Chip removal model with a size effect in terms of defects
distribution: (a) small depth of cut and (b) large depth of cut.
Source: Nakasuji et al.22
Bifano et al.25 proposed that at a low depth of cut, the
energy required for plastic yielding is less to propagate a
crack. Hence, plastic deformation will become predomi-
nant. Scattergood and Blake26 suggested a model for the
ductile regime machining of brittle materials as shown in
possess a short crack length can be machined successfully us-
ing SPDT. The parameters such as tool rake angle, clearance
angle and feed have significant effects on the critical chip
thickness. For executing ductile-regime machining, high neg-
ative rake angle is desirable because it can produce sufficient
hydrostatic pressure in the cutting zone which leads to plastic
deformation.28 Moreover, the brittle–ductile transition also re-
lies on the relation between the crystallographic orientation of
the grains of the workpiece and the cutting direction.22 SPDT
is successfully used to machine varieties of materials such as
Al, Cu, Be, electroless Ni, CaF2, MgF2, ZnSe, ZnS, Ge, po-
tassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), single crystal Si, single
crystal SiC, reaction bonded-SiC (RB-SiC), CVD coated SiC,
etc.23 Processing of different materials by SPDT and major
finding of the reported works are mentioned in Table 2.

Table 2. Literature survey of processing of different materials by SPDT.

Authors Materials Major findings

Cheung et al.29 Aluminium alloy • P ower spectrum analysis of roughness profile can be employed to correlate different process
parameters and mechanisms of surface generation.
• Tool interference and materials swelling have a significant effect on the surface roughness.
Chao et al.30 Single crystal • The tool geometry has significant effects on the material removal and the tool wear rate.
silicon • Better surface finish (Ra ≤ 5 nm) and no obvious tool wear were observed by using a ruling
tool. Whereas, very poor surface finish and rapid tool wear rate were perceived by using
round-nosed tools.
(Table 2 Contianued)
6 Journal of Micromanufacturing

(Table 2 Contianued)

Authors Materials Major findings

Zhong et al.31 Oxygen-free high • Feed rate and cutting depth have a significant influence on machining.
thermal conduc- • A 2.6 nm (Sq) surface roughness is achieved using 1.4 µm rev-1 feed rate and 1 µm cutting depth.
tivity copper
Zhou et al.32 Al 6061 • B y adjusting tool offset and tool height precisely, spherical surface a nano-scale form accuracy
was accomplished.
• The tool edge roundness and tool set-up error have a profound effect on form accuracy.
Yan et al.28 Single crystal CaF2 • Under the wet condition, two types of microfracturing are noticed: one in high tool feed and
the other in low tool feed.
• The tool with –20° rake angle is most suited for ductile machining. Dry machining leads the
possibility of the ductile cut.
• Crystallographic orientation has a significant effect on machining. The largest fracture was ob-
served on the (112) orientations, while the (101) orientations show ductile machining.
Yan et al.33 RB-SiC • Grain size has a significant effect on machine surface roughness rather than the feed.
• No phase transformation of the 6H-SiC grains was observed during machining while amorphiza-
tion of Si bond component was taken place.
• The mechanism of material removal involves ductile cutting, cleavage cracking and grain
dislodgement.
• Large fractures were not observed owing to the ductile response of the Si bond and fracture
energy releasing effects at the grain boundaries.
Chon et al.34 Electroless nickel • A surface roughness of 0.95 nm (rms) was accomplished within the stable cutting mode
• Cutting speed and the depth of cut have very less effect on the surface roughness.
• When the depth of cut and the feed rate were less than 0.5 µm and 0.5 µm rev-1, respectively,
the surface roughness was increased.
Luo et al.35 CaF2 • Surface roughness (Ra) of 2 nm and form accuracy (p-v) of 26 nm have accomplished using 1 μm
rev-1 feed rate and white spirit as a coolant.
• To obtain better surface quality, feed rate up to 5 μm rev-1 is recommended.
Goel et al.36 Single crystal SiC • A surface roughness of 9.2 nm (Ra) was attained using distilled water with a pH value of 7 as a
coolant.
• The mechanism for material removal involves ductile deformation and brittle fracture.
• The cutting force during machining of SiC was 2.5 times higher than the single crystal Si.
Vaclavík et al.37 Gallium phosphide • Cutting speed has less effect on the surface quality of the workpiece.
• The good quality surface was observed at a low depth of cut (1 μm) and low feed rate (2 μmrev-1).
Beaucamp Electroless • Aspheric surface with form accuracy of 100 nm p-v was generated.
et al.38 nickel plating • Turning marks were visible on the finished surface.

Recently, SPDT is coupled with the micro-laser assisted
machining to improve the machining efficiency. During the
machining of brittle material, high-pressure phase transfor-
mation (HPPT) occurs in the machining zone owing to the
high compressive stresses induced by the tool tip. A laser
beam is propagated through an optically transparent diamond
tool and focused precisely at the HPPT zone (i.e., tool–work-
piece interface). The material in the HPPT zone gets soften
by absorbing the laser radiation and that leads to the lower
cutting forces.39 Furthermore, this hybrid machining tech-
nique increases the critical depth of cut to perform the duc-
tile-mode machining, resulting in a higher material removal
rate. Odorless mineral spirit (OMS) is used as a cutting fluid
to minimize the tool wear and to flush away the minute chips
from the machining zone.39,40 Mohammadi et al.40 have suc-
cessfully reduced the surface roughness (Ra) of single crys-
tal silicon (111) from 770 nm to 3.2 nm using this process.
Radial spokes are eliminated completely which generally oc-
curs during diamond turning owing to the crystallographic
orientation effect. Another recent advancement of diamond
turning is the employment of simultaneous coordinated mo-
tion at a high spindle speed and feed motion in the z-direction.
The interesting surface features like diffraction gratings can
be generated using such coordinated motion.20 Yuan et al.41
developed a technique to monitor the surface roughness
during the diamond turning process. It is observed that the
surface undulations are highly correlated to the force vari-
ations. Hence, the variation in surface roughness can be
assessed by monitoring the force signals. Little advancement
in the development of a new form of polycrystalline diamond
tool is reported by Dubrovinskaia et al.42 This is accomplished
by aggregating nano-crystalline diamond particles without
any binder. This new material named as aggregated diamond
nanorod (ADNR) has better wear resistance, hardness, frac-
ture toughness than the single crystal diamond. Chan et al.43
investigated the use of nano-droplet-enriched cutting fluids
(NDCF) in diamond turning. NDCF is a mixture of water
and mineral oil, and the fluid oil exists in the form of nano-
droplets. The formation of nanodroplets reduces the viscosity
of the fluid that leads to the better spreading of the fluids.
Ghosh et al.
As a result, the NDCF has the ability to penetrate deeply into
the tool–chip and tool–work interfaces, resulting in a better
lubrication effect at these interfaces. Furthermore, it can cool
the surface much better by taking the latent heat of vaporiza-
tion, and hence a surface without any defect can be attained.
Guan et al.44 have reported the diamond turning of potassi-
um dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal. The KDP possesses
very low fracture toughness, and is very sensitive to thermal
damage and also it absorbs water easily. A polishing chain
consists of diamond turning followed by polishing, and at the
last IBF is identified to give desired shape and surface finish.
Abou-El-Hossein et al.45 reported the diamond turning of a
Cu–Cr–Zr alloy which is used in die, molds and optical com-
ponents. The presence of hard precipitates and surface oxides
in the alloy makes it difficult to machine.
Besides to perform efficient machining operation, a very
sharp cutting tool with an edge radius of a few tens of nano-
metres is recommended. Such uniform properties can be ob-
tained in the single crystal materials and too much attention
is required to prepare the cutting edges with a desired crys-
tallographic orientation. This process involves remarkable
expertise for the tool developments, resulting in increases in
the tooling cost. To impart smooth cutting motion and feed
motion, the tool and the work materials have to be mount-
ed on vibration-free high precision-sliding bearing systems.
In those bearing system, temperature controlled pressurized
fluids (such as oil or air) is used in the small gap between
the contacting elements to eliminate the mechanical contact.
The need of such specialized bearing system possesses high
capital investment. Although SPDT is an efficient finishing
process for fabrication of aspheric or free-form optical com-
ponents, its application is confined to the IR optics owing
to the presence of residual turning marks and induced SSD
during plastic deformation in ductile machining. Yan et al.33
have reported the SSD of single crystal silicon during diamond
turning. The SSD consists of the amorphous layer near to the
machined surface and dislocation layer below the amorphous
(a)
Figure 8. (a) Schematic of the ELID grinding components; (b) mechanism of action.
Source: Lim et al.47
7
layer. Hence, the diamond-turned surface should be further
polished to remove the turning marks as well as SSD for mak-
ing them suitable for shorter wavelength application.
Precision grinding with electrolytic in-process dressing
(ELID)
ELID, is an electrochemical technique for tool conditioning,
is used to improve the performance of microgrinding.46 A
metal bonded (i.e., cast iron) grinding wheel, a power source,
an electrode and an electrolytic coolant are the main compo-
nents of the ELID system as shown in Figure 8 (a).47
The cast iron-bonded grinding wheel is connected to the
positive pole of the power supply unit and it acts as an anode.
The negative electrode is made of highly conductive materi-
al such as graphite and copper and located 0.1 mm–0.3 mm
apart from the grinding wheel.48 The electrode covers at least
one-sixth of the grinding wheel surface. The electrolytic cool-
ant is supplied to the grinding zone using a nozzle. During an
ELID cycle, voltage, dressing current and pulse width can be
controlled by power supply unit for improving the effective-
ness of the process. In ELID, the metal bond is dissolved due
to which the blunt grits are dislodged from the wheel and new
sharp grits are exposed continuously.
In the first stage, sharp abrasive grits along with the bond-
ing material of the grinding wheel are flattened out by truing.
Thereafter, ELID pre-dressing starts to expose the sharp grits
on the trued wheel. As the pre-dressing continues, the bonding
material dissolves continuously and an oxide layer is formed
on the wheel surface. The oxide layer has an insulating proper-
ty; as a result, the electrical conductivity of the grinding wheel
is reduced and the further dissolution of bonding material is
prevented. When grinding starts, sharp grits are becoming
blunt and wear out. The oxide layer is also removed; as a result,
the electrical conductivity of the grinding wheel increases and
the dressing process starts again. This process is repeated for
proper conditioning of the grinding wheel.49 Hence, an ELID
(b)
8 Journal of Micromanufacturing

with microgrinding becomes an important process for optical Plasma chemical vaporization machining (PCVM)
component fabrication. By this process, 0.33 nm (Ra) surface
PCVM is a precision finishing process to generate a prefin-
roughness (Ra) of BK7 glass is accomplished.50
ished surface for further processing by EEM. It utilizes the
In ELID grinding, it is difficult to maintain the figure
chemical reaction between the neutral radicals and the surface
accuracy precisely for a large surface. Another alternative
atoms to achieve precision surface without any geometric
approach is reported to reduce the tool wear during micro-
and crystallographic damage.17,58 Highly reactive neutral
grinding. Heinzel and Rickens51 reported that engineered
radicals are generated under the influence of atmospheric
grinding wheels of coarse grain size (grain size ≥ 100 µm) pressure radio frequency (RF) plasma by decomposing the
has the ability to perform ductile mode grinding to obtain supplied reactive gas (composition: He, SF6 or CF4 and O2)
better surface quality than ELID grinding without occurring in the working gap (gap between the electrode and workpiece
substantial tool wear. Processing of different materials by surface).59 The material is removed as volatile molecules
ELID grinding and major findings are mentioned in Table 3. owing to the reaction between generated radicals and surface
With the recent advancement in ELID grinding technique, atoms as shown in Figure 9.
the mirror quality surface can be attained on various hard and
brittle optical materials. The application of this process is
extended from plane surface finishing to internal, cylindrical and
spherical-shape grinding. Moreover, the aspheric-shaped lens or
molds can also be suitably finished. For this purpose, an efficient
ultraprecision-grinding machine and various wheel forms are re-
quired. A large-scale telescope mirror, parabolic mirror for use in
Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron mirror can be efficiently
fabricated by ultraprecision- and nanoprecision-ELID grinding
techniques.56 The developed machine is mainly composed of the
high stiffness machine frame, NC controller and ELID system.
The mirror-quality surface of silicon wafers, which are used in
fabrication of integrated circuits and other micro-devices, can be Figure 9. Material removal mechanism in PCVM.
obtained by a cup-type grinding wheel. A straight grinding wheel
Source: Mori et al.17
is used to finish large silicon wafers. ELID-lap grinding with a
metal-resinoid hybrid-bonded diamond wheel having finer grain Plasma etching process is also working on the same prin-
size is used to finish monocrystalline silicon and chemical vapor ciple, but it has low material removal ability as it works under
deposition (CVD)-SiC.56 However, as it is a bonded rigid abra- very low pressure (1–10–3 Torr).17 In case of PCVM (working
sive finishing, SSD and microcracks cannot be avoided. A gentle pressure ≥ 1 atm), machining efficiency is higher owing to the
polishing process is needed to apply for the removal of those high radical density and small mean free path of ions which
damages. Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) can be used as a leads to low kinetic energy.60 Surface roughness in atomic or-
final finishing stage to achieve desired surface finish and shape der without any surface or subsurface damage may be accom-
accuracy without any SSD.57 The p-v height of around λ/2–λ/5 plished owing to the isotropic etching.17
can be attained by ELID grinding, and it can be further improved Different types of electrodes (spherical, cylindrical,
around of λ/10–λ/20 using MRF. blade type, flat-bar, etc.) are used in PCVM based on the

Table 3. Literature survey of processing of different materials by ELID grinding.

Authors Materials Major findings

Ohmori et al. 52
Monocrystalline • Using #40,000 wheel, surface finish with 2.8 nm Ra and 18 nm Rmax was accomplished.
silicon, BK-7 • Constant pressure ELID grinding has ability to produce better surface quality than by
constant depth of cut.
Zhao et al.53 Fused silica, fused • 2 nm–3 nm (rms) surface roughness was achieved with 0.5 µm SSD for fused quartz.
quartz • Fused silica was finished to 30 nm–40 nm (rms) surface roughness and around 1 µm SSD
is reported.
Islam et al.54 Si • Better surface finish (Ra 4 nm) and good grinding performance was observed.
• Comparatively small SSD was induced.
Yin et al.55 Zerodur • Smooth surface with a surface roughness of 5 nm–10 nm Ra and 1.5 nm in flatness was
accomplished using #4,000 wheel.
• The depth of cut has a significant effect on the surface quality.
Ghosh et al.
requirement. For rough finishing, a cylindrical rotary elec-
trode is placed near the work surface and the reactive gas is
dragged to the plasma zone.17 Figure 10 (a) and 10 (b) shows
the schematic of a rotary electrode and material removal func-
tion, respectively. Thereafter, high-density neutral radicals are
generated by decomposing reactive gas and the chemically
active radical will react with the surface atom to remove the
material as volatile molecules. When the rotational speed of
electrode increases, the feed rate (drag) of reactive gas to the
working gap increases and RF power for producing radicals
is also increased to some extent due to the substantial cool-
ing effect of rotating electrode.59,61 Therefore, the density of
generated radicals in the working gap increases which leads
to high machining efficiency. But beyond a certain limit, ma-
terial removal will not increase with the rotational speed of
electrode proportionally because the RF power will be insuf-
ficient to decompose the greater amount of reactive gas. The
effect of working gap on the material removal is less signifi-
cant. Adequate RF power and a substantial amount of reac-
tive gas supply are required to preserve the high machining
(a)
Figure 10. (a) Schematic drawing of rotary electrode supplying reactive gas to the machining zone and (b) material removal function using
rotary electrode.
Source: Mori et al.17
(a)
Figure 11. (a) Schematic of NC-PCVM process and (b) electrode raster scanning and removal function.
Source: Yamamura et al.65
9
efficiency.61 High material removal rate (few microns to few
hundred microns per minute) such as lapping can be obtained
and precision surface quality can also be maintained by rotat-
ing electrode. Single crystal Si, SiC, fused silica have been
successfully processed by this process.61 Generally, Al alloy
is used to make the rotary electrode and the electrode is coat-
ed with a dielectric material such as alumina to prevent the
secondary electron emission which leads to arc discharge.17
It also can produce stable and low temperature plasma, and
it also has high corrosion resistance against fluorine radical
which is used for chemical reaction.61,62
Long spatial wavelength figure errors can be elimi-
nated efficiently using rotary electrode. To remove spatial
wavelength near about 1 mm, very small diameter pipe
electrode is placed adjacent to the rotary electrode.63 The
portion of work surface which comes in contact with the
plasma gets heated and other portion remains cool compar-
atively. As a result, there is a possibility of cracks gener-
ation owing to the induced thermal stress. This limitation
of the rotary electrode can be overcome by using a flat-bar
(b)
(b)
10 Journal of Micromanufacturing

electrode with multiple gas nozzles.64 Moreover, the size of
the removal function (Figure 10 (b)) is in millimetre order
which restricts rotary electrode-type PCVM to accomplish
ultraprecision surface. Hence, to improve the spatial reso-
lution of machining, submillimetre order removal function
is desirable as shown in Figure 11 (b). That can be attained
by supplying the plasma through small diameter orifice to
the working gap.60 Therefore, a spatial resolution of process
improves as a very small region of the surface will come
in contact with the plasma. To avoid the gas replacement
requirement and to make it more economical, open-air-type
NC-PCVM is gaining interest as shown in Figure 11 (a).65
In NC-PCVM system, a very small diameter (3 mm)
aluminium alloy electrode is used and the electrode is sur-
rounded by Teflon cover through which process gas is sup-
plied as shown in Figure 11 (a). By applying RF power
supply (f = 13.56 MHz), a stable plasma is produced in the
small working gap.65 Thickness variation can be eliminated
efficiently by a single raster scanning (Figure 11 (b)) as the
material removal rate is high. In this system, no gas evacua-
tion system is needed as the reactive gas is supplied directly
to the working gap around the electrode.
Figure 12. Principle of the numerically controlled (NC) figuring.
Source: Yamamura et al.65
The depth and the volume of removal function (influence
function) increase as the finishing time increases. Hence,
dwelling time distribution has a very important role to
remove figure errors selectively. Dwelling time distribution
is calculated by deconvoluting removal volume distribution
and the influence function as shown in Figure 12. Therefore,
scanning speed distribution of work table is determined and
raster scanning is performed to figure the whole surface.65
Processing of different materials by PCVM and major finding
of the reported works are mentioned in Table 4.
During finishing using PCVM, the process parameters
must be controlled properly to minimize the thermal effect
of the workpiece.66 Furthermore, during finishing of poly-
crystalline material like reaction sintered-SiC (RS-SiC), a
differential finishing was observed owing to the presence of
α-SiC grain, newly synthesized β-SiC grain and the residual
Si. The removal rate of Si was many times greater than the
other phases. The non-uniform removal of RS-SiC compo-
nents leads to the degradation of surface integrity by forming
pores.68 Hence, optimization of the process parameters is req-
uired to achieve the desired surface integrity. In NC-PCVM,
a figure error with the spatial wavelength larger than 10 mm
can be easily eliminated by the rotary electrode and a spa-
tial wavelength close to 1 mm can be removed efficiently by
employing the pipe electrode. Hence, it is essential to select
the size or type of electrode based on the spatial wavelength
to be removed. Besides residual figure error with the spatial
wavelength near to 0.1 mm can be corrected by EEM as it
utilizes the chemical reaction between ultrafine particles and
the workpiece surface for the atomic removal of the mate-
rial.59,60 By EEM, nanometre-order figure accuracy and an
atomic-order surface finish can be achieved successfully.
However, the removal rate in EEM is many times smaller

Table 4. Literature survey of processing of different materials by PCVM.

Authors Material Major finding

Yamamura Si • To improve the spatial resolution of finishing, high flow rate and small working gap are desirable.
et al.60 • 30 µm finishing spot is accomplished by maintaining the working gap around 60 µm.
Sano et al.59 SiC • Oxidation has a significant role in the etching of SiC.
• Material removal rate as high as 0.18 mm min-1 was reported.
• Surface roughness of C and Si face decrease and increase, respectively, during this process.
Sano et al.66 SiC and Si • Surface temperature has greater effect on material removal of SiC than Si.
• Surface roughness of Si face of SiC increases at high RF due to the high temperature but not due
to high radical density.
• High etch rate of Si face can be attained without surface roughness degradation by subsequent
cooling of the surface.
Ueda et al.67 Quartz crystal • The correction of thickness variation is performed efficiently by compensating the scanning speed
in respect of surface temperature.
• Removal rate can be increased by heating the work surface.
Sano et al.64 SiC • Both C and Si faces possess around same etching rate at different surface temperature.
• Surface roughness degradation is very high for Si face at high temperature.
• Surface temperature and etch rate both have a significant effect on surface roughness evolution.
Ghosh et al. 11

than in the PCVM.65 Hence, in recent days, to achieve ultra-
precision-optical components, NC-PCVM followed by NC-
EEM is employed.
ER and MR fluid-based finishing processes
The stringent requirements of the micro-aspherical optical
components can be accomplished by both ER and MR fluid-
based finishing processes. The rheological properties of
both the processes can be altered significantly by applying
external fields and hence, they are well known as field-as-
sisted finishing processes. It is possible to obtain stress-free
optical surface as flexible abrasive brushes or ribbons interact
with the surface to remove the asperities.69
near the tip. It forms a flexible abrasive brush having large
shear stress and high apparent viscosity. When relative mo-
tion between tool and workpiece is employed, the abrasive
particles are dragged through the working gap. As a result, the
ultrafine abrasive particles interact with the work surface and
the asperities are sheared off. The gap between the workpiece
and tool tip must be maintained precisely as it has significant
importance in the finishing process. Too less working gap
may lead to the possibility of short-circuiting and too far may
reduce the strength of the electric field.76

Electrorheological finishing (ERF). ER finishing becomes an

important process for optics fabrication. It was first proposed
by Kuriyagawa and Syoji70 in 1999 for the polishing of small
three-dimensional shapes such as micro-aspheric lenses
and metallic dies. ER polishing slurry is the heart of this
process. ER slurry consists of a dispersed phase, a basal fluid
(continuous phase), polishing abrasives and additives. Solid
particles having high permittivity are selected as a dispersed
phase to generate the ER effect easily under an electric field.
Generally, starch, silica, titanium dioxide and alumina are
used as the dispersed phase of ER fluids. The basal fluid is a Figure 13. Schematic of ER fluid-assisted finishing for conductive
liquid with some distinct properties such as low permittivity, workpiece.
low conductivity, high breakdown voltage and low viscosity. Source: Zhang et al.76
Silicone oil is widely used as a basal fluid. Additives are mostly
used as a dispersing agent and a stabilizer for preventing During finishing of a non-conductive material such as
particle coagulation and particle sedimentation, respectively.71 optical glass, an auxiliary electrode is placed near the sur-
Ultra-fine abrasive particles such as diamond, ceria and green face of the workpiece. The location of the tool relative to
carborundum are usually used as polishing abrasives. The the auxiliary electrode changes continuously, when the tool
rheological properties such as apparent viscosity and yield moves over the surface of the workpiece to polish it. As
stress are greatly enhanced by applying external electric fields.72 a result, electric field strength changes which leads to the
The ER polishing slurry is changed from liquid to visco-plastic possibility of unstable and non-uniform material removal.77
solid instantly.73–75 Suspended dielectric ER particles of the To overcome this limitation, an advanced ER tool by
ER fluid become polarized owing to the application of electric incorporating cathode and anode together was developed by
field. As a consequence, a transformation from the uniform Chen et al.77 The schematic diagram of this tool is shown in
distribution of the particles to a chin-like structure is taken Figure 14. The tool tip diameter is maintained within 1 mm
place. ER particles experience an attraction force which leads and the edge of the tool must be round-shaped to avoid elec-
to the apparent enhancement of rheological properties of the tric charge concentration at the edge.
ER fluid. The change in properties occurs in milliseconds, and
it is also reversible.
The schematic diagram of ER fluid-assisted polishing
for the conductive workpiece is shown in Figure 13. The
workpiece and the micro tool both act as electrodes. The ER-
polishing slurry is supplied in the working gap between the
workpiece and tool. The electric force line radiate from the
tool tip to the surface of the workpiece as the electric field is
applied between the electrodes. The dense ribbons consist of
ER particles and abrasive particles around the tool are formed Figure 14. Schematic diagram of ER finishing tool for non-conduc-
along those force lines. A large number of particles are con- tive workpiece.
centrated at the tool tip as the electric field strength is highest Source: Chen et al.77
12 Journal of Micromanufacturing

Table 5. Literature survey of processing of different materials by ERF.

Authors Material Major finding

Kuriyagawa et al.73 BK7 glass • ERF is successfully applied for the first time to achieve nanolevel finishing of micro-aspheric
lens, die and mirror.
• The roughness is reduced from 18.6 nm Ra to 4.4 nm Ra.
Kim et al.78 Si • Average surface roughness is reduced from 50 nm to 2.9 nm.
Kim et al. 79
Borosilicate glass • Diamond-mixed ER fluid was used.
• Average surface roughness is reduced from 28 nm to 2.8 nm.
Cheng et al.74 K9 glass • Peak-to-valley (p-v) is reduced to 25 nm from 58 nm at 0.5 mm working gap and 2,000 volt
supply voltage.
• The final surface roughness (Ra) achieved was as low as 2.5 nm.
Su et al.69 BK7 glass • Wheel-like integrated tool is used for fabricating miniaturized optical parts. Higher linear
speed is expected in the working zone.
• The surface roughness is achieved at 0.86 nm rms.

This central rotating rod acts as the cathode and the con-
centric edges of the static cylindrical tube near the rod end
act as an anode. Under the influence of the high electric field,
the field lines are formed between the rod and the concentric
tube in the radial direction. The suspended ER particles and
abrasive particles are polarized and form a chain along the
field lines as shown in Figure 14. As the tool rotation is ap-
plied, the chains are also rotated and the abrasive particles
abrade the surface to finish it precisely. By volume, 35.2%
starch particles, 52.8% silicone oil and 12% CeO2 particles
are used to make the ER-polishing fluid slurry for this study.77
Processing of different materials by ERF and major finding of
the reported works are mentioned in Table 5.

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF). MRF is a widely used fin-

ishing process to fabricate the precision optical components.
It has the ability to achieve the desired level of figure accu-
racy and surface roughness on a wide range of optical mate-
rials such as single crystalline materials (Si, sapphire, CaF2,
etc.), glass/glass ceramics (fused silica, ULE, Zerodur, etc.)
and polycrystalline materials (SiC).80–83 The conformal and
sub-aperture nature of polishing tool make it suitable for fin-
ishing of flats, cylinders, spheres, aspheres and free-form op-
tics also.82 The mid-spatial frequency error (ripple) and SSD
produced by previous finishing process (i.e., shaping methods
or other conventional polishing processes) can be eliminat-
ed effectively by MRF to make it suitable for shorter wave-
length applications.84 MRF uses MR fluid, which consists of
non-magnetic abrasive particles (MAPs), magnetic carbon-
yl iron particles (CIPs), carrier liquid and some additives or
stabilizers. Figure 15 shows the schematic diagram of MRF
process. The MR fluid is supplied through a nozzle onto a
rotating wheel to carry the fluid through the tool–workpiece
interface.85 Under the influence of magnetic field, the mag-
netic particles are attracted towards the wheel and the abra-
sive particles move to the top.86 It creates a conformal and
sub-aperture polishing lap which perfectly conforms the local
topography of the workpiece to be polished.
Figure 15. Schematic diagram of magnetorheological finishing
(MRF) process.
Source: https://qedmrf.com/en/mrfpolishing/mrf-technology/how-it-works
(accessed 5 December 2017).
When the stiffened MR fluid ribbon interacts with the
workpiece, the ribbon gets compressed and the workpiece ex-
periences a shear force consequently that leads to shear-mode
material removal.87 By changing the applied magnetic field
strength, the magnitude and distribution of pressure on the
workpiece can be controlled. As the workpiece experiences
a low normal force, the possibility of SSD formation in this
process is less. By controlling the process parameters (i.e.,
working gap, wheel speed, magnetic field strength, etc.), high
material removal rate compared to other finishing processes
can be obtained. Owing to the flexibility, determinism and
high removal rate of the MRF process, high-efficiency figure
correction on a wide range of optical surface shape can be per-
formed in a cost-effective manner.88 Basic mechanism, com-
position of MR fluid and its rheological properties, important
process parameters, material removal function (i.e., influence
function), theoretical and experimental investigations of as-
sociated forces and applications of MRF process are reported
previously in detail by Sidpara et al.89–91 and Jain et al.92,93
Ghosh et al. 13

Table 6. Literature survey of processing of different materials by MRF.

Authors Material Shape Major finding

Ci et al.96 K9 glass Aspheric • High convergence ratio of the surface figure is observed.
mirrors • Peak-to-valley (p-v) is reduced to 0.179λ from 0.216λ and the root mean square
(rms) is reduced to 0.017λ from 0.027λ (λ = 633 nm) in 2 hours.
Yin et al.97 BK7 glass Concave • At first, ELID grinding is performed to reduce the micro-roughness and figure
surface accuracy to some extent.
• Form accuracy is improved to λ/18 p-v and micro-roughness of 0.56 nm rms is
achieved using MRF within 17 min.
Lormeau et al.94 Fused silica Free-form • A novel ultrafine MR fluid (C30) is employed to fabricate EUVL optics.
surfaces • The surface roughness of about 1 Å range is achieved.
Catrin et al.84 Fused silica Disks • MRF has the ability to remove surface and subsurface damage on the previously
machined surface.
• An increase in roughness value is observed as the removal thickness of the
deformed layer increases. No SSD-induced damage is observed.
Beier et al.98 Electroless Free-form • Long-wave and fine figure errors are corrected efficiently using larger (dia = 370
Ni-coated Al surfaces mm) and smaller (dia = 50 mm) polishing wheel, respectively.
mirror • Shape accuracy and micro-roughness are reduced to 150 nm p-v and 0.5 nm rms,
respectively.
Maloney et al.95 CaF2, Si Aspherical • Low and mid spatial frequency errors are corrected by employing three different
and free-form sizes wheel (i.e., 150 mm, 50 mm and 50 mm, sequentially) and C30 MR fluid.
optics • Figure accuracy is corrected from 12λ to λ/30 p-v and surface roughness less
than 1.5 Å is achieved.
Zhong et al.99 Electroless Ni Aspheric • Surface roughness around 0.3 nm Ra is achieved to meet the requirement of
X-ray optics.
• Cyclic residual marks or ripples are removed significantly by MRF.
Piché et al.100 Fused silica Deep concave • A new high–NA (numerical aperture) MRF mode is used to correct the figure
aspheres errors efficiently.
• Figure accuracy around 5 nm rms is achieved.
Deng et al.101 Al mirror Paraboloid • MRF is combined with small tool polishing (STP) technique to remove the residu-
al figure errors of diamond-turned surface.
• Surface roughness and figure accuracy of around 3 nm and 0.025λ rms,
respectively are attained.
Zhong et al.102 CaF2 Concave asph- • Surface roughness of 0.3 nm Ra and surface accuracy of 4 nm rms are obtained.
eric mirrors • Flexible smoothing process (FSP) is employed to reduce the mid spatial
frequency errors.

The shape and size (may vary from a few mm2 to a few
cm ) of removal function (i.e., influence function) can be
2
controlled efficiently by changing the magnetic field strength.
A stable removal function can be attained by controlling the
process parameters precisely. Careful characterization of the
work surface is carried out to identify the distribution and
magnitude of figure errors. Based on the removal function
and figure errors, dwell time and CNC tool paths are fixed
using advanced algorithms to perform finishing preferen-
tially.87 Processing of different materials by MRF and major
finding of the reported works are mentioned in Table 6.
Two types of abrasives are generally used for preparing
the MR fluid. The first one is the micron-sized CeO2 pow-
der which is extensively used for the finishing of soft or hard
optical glasses. The second one is nanodiamond powder
which is well suited for the finishing of sapphire crystals,
single crystal Si, CaF2 and hard polycrystalline ceramics such
as SiC.103,104 During finishing with a conventional MR fluid,
the abrasive particles interact with the workpiece to remove
the materials (they are forced to move away from the magnet
owing to the magnetic levitation force) by moving between
the workpiece and the stiffen CIP chain that imparts the re-
quired fluid pressure and relative motion. Hence, it can be
expressed as a three-body abrasion mechanism. As a result,
the conventional MR fluid may not provide adequate shear
stress to finish a very hard surface. Furthermore, the abrasives
used in this fluid, possess a high escaping tendency from the
finishing zone at a high rotational speed owing to the weak
bonding strength of abrasives and the action of centrifugal
force. As the process continues, material removal rate tends
to decrease which is called as tool aging. A uniform finishing
cannot be maintained owing to the tool aging effect, and it
affects the productivity as a frequent change of MR fluid be-
comes essential.
14 Journal of Micromanufacturing

Jung et al.105 introduced a magnetizable abrasive to machine types and wheel sizes.94,95 Recent advancements in
overcome the aforementioned limitations related to materi- MRF process make it suitable for improving low, mid- and
al removal rate. Besides the magnetizable characteristic, the high-spatial frequency errors to meet the ultra-high require-
abrasive must be adequately hard to remove the irregulari- ments of modern optics.
ties from the hard workpiece. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have
exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, and it also MR jet finishing. MR jet finishing is another sub-aperture
possess a very stable structure both thermally and chemical- finishing process which is developed by the QED Technologies
ly. Therefore, a new sintered iron particles-carbon nanotube for the fabrication of precision optics. Conformal, steep
(I-CNT) compound was developed. Under the action of the concave and free-form optics become integral parts of the
external magnetic field, the I-CNT compound abrasives also advanced optical system which are difficult to polish using
actively participate in the formation of chain-like structures other conventional finishing processes owing to the steep
along with CIPs. Therefore, I-CNT compound abrasives are local slopes and tool–workpiece shape interferences.107,108
strongly bonded with the surrounding CIPs as well as other Furthermore, the outside convex shape of a conformal optics
sintered I-CNT compound particles. As a result, the finishing (such as ogive dome) used in missiles can be finished by
operation using I-CNT compound abrasives can be consid- MRF process, but the concave (i.e., inside portion) side must
ered as a two-body abrasion mechanism, and it can impart also be finished precisely to make it suitable for transmission
a much higher shear stress on the workpiece owing to the purpose.108 MR jet finishing process has the ability to reach
combined action of both the fluid pressure and the mutual the internal surface to correct the figure error suitably.
magnetic force. This leads to the higher removal rate in this
The kinetic energy of conventional abrasive jet polishing
case. Furthermore, the tool aging effect also reduces remark-
is sufficient to remove the asperities from the impact zone.
ably as the magnetic force of attraction between the abrasives
However, the jet loses its coherence property after exit from
and its surrounding remains active throughout the finishing
a nozzle owing to the presence of aerodynamic disturbances,
process. Recently, Niranjan and Jha106 introduced a magnetic
pressure gradient and surface tension force. As a result, the jet
abrasive which is a compound of CIPs and SiC. It was used to
flow becomes highly unstable over the impact zone that leads
finish mild steel workpiece, and it was observed that the fin-
to the instability of removal function which is not desirable
ishing rate was significantly increased by the use of sintered
for the optics fabrication.109 A stable, coherent and collimated
magnetic abrasive.
jet having high velocity and low viscosity is expected for
MRF can be successfully employed to finish wide veri-
deterministic ultra-precision finishing of complex-shaped
ties of optical materials. However, the application of the MRF
optics.110
process should be extended to metals, composites, thermal
spray coating, etc. The components used in automobiles,
medical, aerospace, nuclear reactors, etc., require a very high
surface finish. MRF and allied processes can be efficiently
used for finishing of few such components as prosthesis imp-
lants, aircraft bearings, dies or molds, etc. MRF is very effi-
cient for finishing of non-magnetic materials, but the appli-
cation of MRF should be explored to the magnetic materials
also. Furthermore, the aggressiveness of the MR fluid may be
enhanced by adding a suitable chemical etchant to soften the
metallic surface and that leads to the higher material removal
rate.89,91 Molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) approach can
be undertaken for further understanding of the material re-
moval mechanism at nanoscale, abrasive particle interaction,
stress analysis and chemical as well as the mechanical aspect   (a)   (b)   (c)
of MRF. Figure 16. Jet snapshot images (a) water, (b) MR fluid with magnet
To meet the desired requirement of deep-UV or ext- off and (c) MR fluid with magnet on (velocity = 30 m s-1 and nozzle
reme-UV system, the QED Technologies has developed a diameter = 2 mm).
novel super-fine MR fluid called C30. It has the ability to Source: Tricard et al.109
attain an ultra-low roughness (ULR) with very low remov-
al rate for fine figure corrections of mid-spatial frequency In MR jet finishing, the MR fluid is magnetized by apply-
errors. It is possible to achieve < 1.5 Å rms roughness on ing an axial magnetic field when it comes out from a nozzle.
fused silica, Si, glass, CaF2 and other materials using this Figure 16 shows the snapshot images of water, MR fluid with
fluid. The surface roughness in the range of 1 Å–2 Å can be magnet off and on condition. The water jet and the MR fluid
obtained throughout the fluid life and over a wide variety of break up at a short distance from the nozzle exit as shown in
Ghosh et al.
Figure 16 (a) and 16 (b), respectively. Besides, it is possible to
maintain a coherent jet of MR fluid over several tens of centi-
metres by applying magnetic field as shown in Figure 16 (c).
The applied magnetic field induces a uniform structure within
the fluid and the apparent viscosity increases consequently.
The highly coherent MR fluid induces radial flow upon im-
pingement on the surface and hence, stable and reproducible
removal function is generated.109,110 The components are fin-
ished in the rotational mode. The part rotates as well as sweeps
around its centre of curvature to retain the MR jet normal to
the surface. Thus, this unique tool overcomes the problem of
ultra-high finishing of steep concave surfaces and cavities.
Ultrasonic MRF compound finishing. Ultrasonic MRF compound
finishing offers a new way to fabricate optical components to
take the advantage of both MRF as well as ultrasonic polishing,
simultaneously. The concave surface with a small radius and
the free-form optical surface can be precisely finished by
this process. The MR fluid is supplied to a small spherical
polishing head to form a flexible magnetic abrasive brush
(FMAB) by applying a magnetic field to the polishing head
as shown in Figure 17. Ultrasonic vibration to the finishing
zone along the polishing head (i.e., vertical direction) is also
applied to improve the polishing efficiency.111
Figure 17. Schematic of the polishing zone of ultrasonic MRF
compound finishing.
The polishing head also rotates on its own spindle axis
simultaneously with a specified speed. A small and uniform
working gap is maintained between the polishing head and
workpiece. The workpiece is rotated in the opposite direction
to the polishing head. Hence, the finishing zone experiences
a shear force and the material is removed consequently.111,112
The whole surface is finished by employing a linear motion
to the workpiece on the horizontal plane. Thus, the combined
action of the magnetic field and ultrasonic vibration improves
the polishing efficiency.
15
Magnetic abrasive finishing. Magnetic abrasive finishing
(MAF) is also used for optical surface finishing. The
magnetic field strength and the working gap between the
workpiece and magnet are the most important process
parameters in MAF. The finishing forces can be controlled
by altering the magnetic field strength.113 The workpiece is
placed between the S-pole and N-pole of the magnet and the
working gap is filled with MAPs as shown in Figure 18. The
abrasive particles are made by sintering of abrasive powder
and iron powder under a very high temperature and pressure
in the inert gas atmosphere. A little amount of lubricant
is added to distribute iron powder and abrasive powder
uniformly.113,114 Under the influence of magnetic field, the
MAPs are joined along the magnetic force lines between N
and S poles to form a FMAB. The flexible brush confirms
the local shape of the surface and behaves as a multipoint
cutting tool. During finishing, the cylindrical workpiece
rotates and at the same time magnetic pole or workpiece
vibrates to improve the polishing efficiency.
Figure 18. Schematic diagram of cylindrical magnetic abrasive
finishing.
Source: Shinmura et al.113
Riveros et al.115–117 and Yamaguchi et al.118 have emp-
loyed MAF to finish a Si MEMS micro-pore X-ray optic.
The sidewalls of micro-pore act as X-ray focusing mirrors,
but it possess a non-uniform surface texture. Hence, it needs
to be suitably finished to improve its performance. An MEMS
micro-pore optic is kept into a container where it is fully
submerged in a homogeneous fluid mixture of iron particles
and abrasive particles. The container is placed between two
electromagnets. An alternating magnetic field with around
20 Hz frequency is applied to impart oscillatory motion. The
abrasive particles randomly interact with the sidewalls of
the micro-pore and remove the material. Thus, the peaks of
micro-asperities are sheared off preferentially and a surface
roughness of around 4 nm rms is obtained.
16
Summary
The stringent requirements of an optical system used in
various applications compel optical manufacturers and
the researcher to develop deterministic precision finishing
processes. Ultrasmooth surface finish and high form accuracy
without any subsurface defects are the prime requirements
of the ultraprecision optics. SPDT, ELID grinding, PCVM
and ER/MR fluid-based finishing processes have been used
widely for optical surface fabrication. SPDT has the ability
to produce aspherical or free-form surface with determin-
istic form accuracy and nanometre scale surface roughness.
However, finishing marks and generation subsurface defects
cannot be avoided as it is also a mechanical finishing process
and hence, its application is confined to IR optics only. ELID
grinding is also used to improve the surface finish and form
accuracy to some extent and to make the performance of
further precision finishing process economical. PCVM utilizes
the reaction between neutral radicals and surface atoms to
remove the materials in terms of volatile molecules. Surface
roughness in atomic order without any surface or subsurface
damage may be accomplished. The stringent requirements of
the aspherical optical components can be accomplished by
both ER and MR fluid-based finishing processes. MRF has
the ability to achieve the desired level of figure accuracy and
surface roughness on a wide range of optical materials as low
as 1 Å rms range to meet the need of deep-UV or extreme-UV
system. Recent advancements in MRF process make it suit-
able for improving low-, mid-and high-spatial frequency
errors to meet the ultra-high requirements of modern optics.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The funding support from IIT Kharagpur under ISIRD grant and
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Bombay, is
acknowledged.
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