Radical Measurement System for Lean Optics Manufacturing

精密光学是数字革命以及自动驾驶汽车等下一代应用的基础。然而，由于缺乏经济高效的技术来精确测量这些表面的三维形状，以确保整个制造过程中的一致性和误差，因此在自由曲面、非球面和球面光学部件的可扩展制造中存在一个根本瓶颈。可视波长激光干涉仪广泛使用，但仅适用于最后精细抛光阶段的质量保证。对于粗磨形式(磨料)的部件的预抛光，其中可能无意地引入大的几何误差，较长波长的红外(IR)干涉仪利用粗糙表面的反射率来提供准确的3-D轮廓，其动态范围是可见干涉仪的20倍。然而，非常高的系统成本限制了除最大或高价值制造商(例如，国防)之外的所有制造商的采用，大多数限于一维轮廓术，这太耗时而无效，或被迫进行抛光盲区。相应的返工、拒绝/浪费，生产能力和单件成本使大多数标准光学产品制造商无法参与精密光学供应链。现有技术没有一种经济有效地克服这些障碍，也不能同时在可见光和红外波长下工作。作为回应，工业光学工具公司瞄准了一种突破性的混合红外-可见光干涉仪，使用一种新的光学方法和相应的配置，使系统成本得以大幅降低。在概念验证工作以及学术和工业技术的基础上，这个与哈德斯菲尔德大学、薄膜金属薄膜公司和阿姆斯特朗光学公司合作的项目将开发和验证这一关键使能技术达到原型水平。带来显著的经济效益和溢出效益，该项目支持针对英国战略目标(例如汽车、医疗设备、污染监测和安全/防御)的新使能技术的中小企业供应链多样化和降低风险，以及通过外包应对海外供应链日益增长的挑战。

Precision optics underpin the digital revolution, and other next-generation applications such as autonomous vehicles.However, a fundamental bottleneck exists in the scalable manufacture of all precision optics across freeform, aspherical and spherical optical components, due to a lack of cost-effective technology to accurately measure 3-D forms of these surfaces for conformance and errors across the whole manufacturing process.Visible wavelength laser interferometers are widely available, but are only suitable for quality assurance during the final fine-polishing stages. For pre-polishing of the component in rough-ground form (course abrasives), where large geometric errors can be unintentionally introduced, longer wavelength infrared (IR) interferometers exploit the reflectivity of rough surfaces to provide accurate 3-D profiles, with 20-times the dynamic range of visible interferometers.However, very high system costs restrict adoption by all but the largest or high-value manufacturers (e.g. defence), with most limited to 1-D profilometry, which are too time-consuming to be effective, or forced to undertake polishing blind.Corresponding re-works, rejection/wastage, throughput and piece-cost preclude participation of the majority of standard optics manufacturers from participating in the precision optics supply chain.No existing technology cost-effectively overcomes these barriers or can operate at both visible and IR wavelengths.In response, Optical Tools for Industry target a ground-breaking hybrid IR-visible interferometer using a new optical approach and corresponding configuration enabling radically reduced system costs.Building on proof-of-concept work as well as both academic and industrial knowhow, this collaborative project with University of Huddersfield, Thin Metallic Films and Armstrong Optical will develop and validate this key enabling technology to prototype-level.Stimulating significant economic and spill-over benefits, the project supports diversification and de-risking of SME supply chains for new enabling technologies addressing UK strategic targets (for example automotive, medical devices, pollution monitoring, and security/defence), as well as addressing the growing challenges of overseas supply chains through on-shoring.