MRI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for Precision Surface Characterization

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This grant provides support for upgraded equipment at the Precision Engineering Center at North Carolina State University for research and education in precision fabrication, metrology and control. Three pieces of equipment will be purchased: a large aperture (150 mm) form measuring interferometer, a white-light interferometric microscope and a large-sample Atomic Force Microscope. Each device covers a certain spatial wavelength/amplitude region of the measurement spectrum and together they provide the ability to measure over a wide range - from form error on large optical surfaces to the details of surfaces created in a machining process. These instruments will be used by faculty, staff and students to pursue a variety of research projects. Examples include the manufacturing of hard disk heads, replication of plastic photonic devices by injection molding, machining of injection molds from hard steel and fabrication of targets for inertial confinement fusion experiments. These projects cover a broad range of industrial sectors but are similar in that the goal is to understand and control a process to produce accurate and repeatable components. Each project requires the ability to measure aspects of the surfaces created - sometimes the overall shape is of interest and sometimes the details of the surface finish is needed. The upgraded instruments will enhance the capability to define the surfaces created and will lead to improvements in the precision fabrication process of interest.