Magnetorheological Polishing Technology Application for High Precision Optical Elements

Abstract

The technology of magnetorheological polishing is widely utilized in the processing of high-precision optical elements. One of the critical factors in magnetorheological polishing technology is the nature and quality of the nanocrystalline abrasives present in the magnetorheological suspension. This study presents a method for the magnetorheological polishing of water-soluble Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP) crystals, which are employed in the fabrication of nonlinear optical elements in laser technology. The magnetorheological suspension is enhanced with a nanocrystalline abrasive composed of amorphous silicon dioxide, synthesized through the sol-gel process. The incorporation of nanocrystalline abrasives contributes significantly to the uniformity and surface quality of optical elements processed with the magnetorheological suspension. The introduction of SiO2 nanocrystalline abrasive into the magnetorheological suspension has enabled the achievement of high processing quality and surface purity, facilitating the final polishing of KDP
single-crystals to a roughness value not exceeding 6 Å.