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Adjustable flexure mount to compensate for deformation of an optic surface
Applied Optics
|December 25, 2019
Summary
This study introduces an adjustable mirror mount that corrects surface deformation from assembly. The kinematic mount significantly reduces surface errors, achieving results comparable to optical polishing.
Area of Science:
- Optical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Metrology
Background:
- Assembly processes can induce significant surface deformation in mirrors.
- Maintaining optical surface figure is critical for high-precision optical systems.
- Existing mounting solutions may not adequately address assembly-induced deformations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate an adjustable mounting structure for compensating mirror surface deformation.
- To develop a method for actively correcting surface figure errors caused by assembly.
Main Methods:
- A six-point kinematic mount with three actively controlled support points was designed.
- Surface deformation was characterized using Zernike coefficients.
- A sensitivity matrix relating actuator displacement to Zernike coefficients was established.
- Compensation adjustments were calculated using anti-sensitivity analysis.
Main Results:
- The adjustable mount demonstrated significant reduction in mirror surface deformation.
- Initial surface deformation of 4.6 nm RMS was reduced to 1.3 nm RMS after four compensation iterations.
- The compensated surface figure closely approached the quality achieved by optical polishing (1.1 nm RMS).
Conclusions:
- The proposed adjustable mounting structure effectively compensates for assembly-induced mirror surface deformation.
- The developed compensation method is feasible and achieves high-precision surface figure correction.
- This approach offers a viable solution for enhancing optical system performance by mitigating assembly errors.
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