Long-Stroke Fast Tool Servo for Diamond Turning of Asymmetric Optics

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This project will design, build, and test a novel fast-tool servomechanism for nanometer-resolution diamond turning of large-amplitude asymmetric surfaces. It is motivated by the increasing need for optical surfaces with no axis of rotational symmetry. Examples of this type of surface include spectacle and contact lenses, human lens implants, elements for laser eye surgery, and components in consumer and professional cameras, as well as image-train elements in devices such as semiconductor photolithographic steppers and scanners, laser printers, and other image processing equipment. At present, elements with low-amplitude asymmetry ( 500 micrometers) can be fabricated on commercially available machines using a piezoelectrically driven fast tool servo. However, no device existing at present can achieve significantly larger stroke lengths along with the necessary accelerations and positioning accuracy to fabricate as-cut functional optics with significant asymmetry. If successful, the project result will fill the significant gap in current manufacturing capabilities and allow the economical production of a wide variety of novel optical systems.