Silicon carbide (SiC) has long been recognized as an excellent material for high performance optical applications because it offers many advantages over other commonly used glasses and metals. Some of the superior attributes of SiC include extremely high specific stiffness (E/ρ), high thermal conductivity and outstanding dimensional stability.The effect of and CO2 laser and its tool path on silicon carbide (SiC) were investigated. The process started by creating Laser induced cracks on the desired pattern. Subsequently, laser assisted polishing was conducted on the same tool path. The surface showed a sharp difference in material removal in the areas with laser induced cracks and in areas with no cracks. This high difference in material removal was used to generate macro and micro patterns. Grooves from 2mm to 200μm in width and 5μm to 20μm depth were successfully generated. Moreover, this process was used to machine a spherical concave mirror that was later used as part of a Newtonian telescope.
【 预 览 】
附件列表
Files
Size
Format
View
Effect of CO2 Laser on Silicon Carbide (SiC) Polishing