Compensation of the tool influence function changes under neighborhood effect in atmospheric pressure plasma...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering
• Surface Metrology

Background:

• Computer Controlled Optical Surfacing (CCOS) is crucial for ultra-precision optics.
• Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing (APPP) offers efficient, chemical-based material removal.
• Plasma heating causes temperature rise, leading to time-variant Tool Influence Functions (TIFs) in APPP, complicating deterministic control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations of existing time-variant TIF models in APPP due to the neighborhood effect.
• To propose and validate a novel compensation method for TIF changes influenced by thermal interactions between adjacent processing points.
• To enhance the accuracy and control of deterministic material removal in APPP for ultra-precision optical surfacing.

Main Methods:

• In-depth analysis of the mechanism behind TIF changes caused by the neighborhood effect.
• Theoretical development and systematic discussion of a compensation strategy, including tool path optimization, TIF change modeling, and dwell time calculation.
• Verification through extensive simulations and experimental validation.

Main Results:

• The proposed method accurately models and compensates for TIF variations arising from the neighborhood effect in APPP.
• Simulations demonstrated the effectiveness of the compensation strategy.
• Experimental validation confirmed the capability for high-precision material removal and rapid convergence.

Conclusions:

• The developed compensation method effectively overcomes the limitations of existing models in APPP by accounting for the neighborhood effect.
• This approach enables more accurate deterministic control of ultra-precision optical surfacing.
• The findings pave the way for enhanced fabrication of complex optical components using APPP.