Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing of an Optical Sinusoidal Grid

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Surface Engineering
• Metrology

Background:

• Sinusoidal grids are crucial surface encoders for precise multi-degree-of-freedom motion measurement.
• Fabricating these grids with nanometric precision presents significant manufacturing challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate the atmospheric pressure plasma processing (APPP) technique for fabricating optical sinusoidal grid surfaces.
• To characterize the removal function and surface generation mechanism of APPP for sinusoidal grid fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of the atmospheric pressure plasma processing (APPP) technique.
• Simulation and experimental validation of the APPP process.
• Post-processing analysis including surface roughness measurements and feature integrity assessment.

Main Results:

• APPP effectively fabricates sinusoidal grid surfaces with nanometric precision.
• The removal function and surface generation mechanism of APPP were characterized.
• Post-mechanical polishing maintained APPP features and significantly reduced surface roughness to optical standards.

Conclusions:

• APPP is a viable and effective method for producing high-precision optical sinusoidal grid surfaces.
• The technique offers a pathway to meet stringent optical requirements for motion measurement encoders.
• APPP demonstrates potential for advanced surface engineering in metrology applications.