STTR Phase I: Predictive Molding of Precision Glass Optics

STTR 第一阶段：精密玻璃光学器件的预测成型

• 批准号: 0512646
• 负责人: Yazid Tohme
• 金额: $ 9.96万
• 依托单位: Moore Nanotechnology Systems, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0512646&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Predictive; Molding; Precision

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project aim to develop an economical method for production of aspheric glass optical elements. Production of aspheric glass optics by compression molding is currently not widely practiced. One of the primary reasons for this is that no method exists to determine the required mold geometry to produce a desired optic geometry. The only available method for producing molds is a time-consuming and expensive trial and error process whereby precision molds are fabricated, optics are molded and inspected, and errors in the resulting optic are used to create new molds with slightly different geometry. This process continues iteratively for many cycles until a satisfactory mold geometry is obtained; adding significantly to the cost of the process and necessitating long lead times. This project will develop physics based computational models of the glass molding process that accurately predict the shape of the optic from knowledge of the mold geometry, the material properties of the glass, and the molding parameters. The models will be developed through systematic characterization of the properties of glasses at high temperatures, incorporation of the the viscoelastic response of the glass with thermal expansions and elastic deflections of the mold and glass into computational models of the process.The broader (commercial) impacts from this project will be many consumer devices, such as DVD players, digital cameras, etc., incorporate aspherical optical elements produced by injection molding of optical polymers. This is currently the only technology capable of producing the required optics at acceptable cost. However, there is increasing pressure to move to glass optics due to their superior optical properties, which will result in superior device performance. While glass molding is widely practiced for production of containers and other low tolerance items, it is not currently widely used for the production of precision optics. The computational tools developed in this proposal will eliminate the current need for production of many expensive trial mold geometries before discovering the proper mold geometry and processing parameters required to produce in-tolerance optics. It will enable molds for glass optics to be produced in a deterministic manner and remove one of the largest technological barriers to adoption of this technology. This will enable opto-electronic products with superior capabilities compared to those available today. The methods developed here will have broader application to other precision molding and casting processes.

该小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目旨在开发一种经济的非球面玻璃光学元件生产方法。目前，通过压缩成型生产非球面玻璃光学器件尚未得到广泛应用。其主要原因之一是没有方法可以确定产生所需光学几何形状所需的模具几何形状。生产模具的唯一可用方法是耗时且昂贵的试错过程，其中制造精密模具，模制和检查光学器件，并利用所得光学器件中的误差来创建几何形状略有不同的新模具。这个过程迭代地持续许多周期，直到获得令人满意的模具几何形状；显着增加流程成本并需要较长的交货时间。该项目将开发基于物理的玻璃成型过程计算模型，根据模具几何形状、玻璃材料特性和成型参数的知识准确预测光学器件的形状。这些模型将通过系统地表征玻璃在高温下的性能、将玻璃的粘弹性响应以及模具和玻璃的热膨胀和弹性偏转纳入该过程的计算模型中来开发。该项目更广泛的（商业）影响将是许多消费设备，例如 DVD 播放器、数码相机等，都采用了通过光学聚合物注塑成型生产的非球面光学元件。这是目前唯一能够以可接受的成本生产所需光学器件的技术。然而，由于玻璃光学器件具有卓越的光学性能，因此转向玻璃光学器件的压力越来越大，这将带来卓越的器件性能。虽然玻璃成型广泛应用于容器和其他低公差物品的生产，但目前尚未广泛用于精密光学器件的生产。该提案中开发的计算工具将消除目前在发现生产公差光学器件所需的适当模具几何形状和加工参数之前生产许多昂贵的试模几何形状的需要。它将能够以确定的方式生产玻璃光学模具，并消除采用该技术的最大技术障碍之一。与现有产品相比，这将使光电产品具有更优越的功能。这里开发的方法将更广泛地应用于其他精密成型和铸造工艺。