Radical Measurement System for Lean Optics Manufacturing

精密光学是数字革命和自动驾驶汽车等下一代应用的基础。然而，在自由曲面、非球面和球面光学元件的所有精密光学元件的可扩展制造中存在一个基本瓶颈，因为缺乏经济有效的技术来精确测量这些表面的三维形式，以确定整个制造过程中的一致性和误差。可见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。对于粗糙表面（过程磨料）组件的预抛光，可能会无意中引入较大的几何误差，长波长的红外（IR）干涉仪利用粗糙表面的反射率提供精确的3-D轮廓，其动态范围是可见光干涉仪的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1-D轮廓测量，这太耗时而无法有效，或者被迫进行盲抛光。相应的返工、废品/浪费、吞吐量和件成本阻碍了大多数标准光学制造商参与精密光学供应链。目前还没有一种技术能够经济有效地克服这些障碍，也无法同时在可见光和红外波长下工作。为此，Optical Tools for Industry瞄准了一种突破性的混合红外-可见光干涉仪，采用了新的光学方法和相应的配置，从而从根本上降低了系统成本。在概念验证工作以及学术和工业知识的基础上，与哈德斯菲尔德大学、Thin Metallic Films和Armstrong Optical的合作项目将开发和验证这一关键的使能技术，使其达到原型水平。该项目刺激了重大的经济效益和溢出效益，支持中小企业供应链的多样化和降低风险，以实现英国战略目标（例如汽车、医疗设备、污染监测和安全/国防）的新支持技术，并通过在岸解决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.