Effect of retrace error on stitching coherent scanning interferometry measurements of freeform optics.

We report on the effect of retrace error during measurement of freeform optics using a commercial coherence scanning interferometer (CSI), and its in-built stitching capabilities. It is shown that measuring segments of freeform optics under non-null conditions, results in artifacts on the measured zone, similar to the Seidel aberrations. An experimental approach is used to quantify the induced aberrations based on the local slopes of the surface.

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids.

An analog, macroscopic method for studying molecular-scale hydrodynamic processes in dense gases and liquids is described. The technique applies a standard fluid dynamic diagnostic, particle image velocimetry (PIV), to measure: i) velocities of individual particles (grains), extant on short, grain-collision time-scales, ii) velocities of systems of particles, on both short collision-time- and long, continuum-flow-time-scales, iii) collective hydrodynamic modes known to exist in dense molecular fluids, and iv) short- and long-time-scale velocity autocorrelation functions, central to understanding particle-scale dynamics in strongly interacting, dense fluid systems. The basic system is composed of an imaging system, light source, vibrational sensors, vibrational system with a known media, and PIV and analysis software.

Fiber-based tools: material removal and mid-spatial frequency error reduction.

This paper details the feasibility of using fiber-based tools in a computer numerical control (CNC) environment to process optical materials and their ability to reduce the amplitude of pre-existing mid-spatial-frequency (MSF) surface errors. The work is motivated by earlier research conducted by the group exploring the ability of polymeric fiber-based tools to remove material from BK7 glass substrates. To evaluate these tools in a CNC environment, three tasks are explored.

Macroscopic liquid-state molecular hydrodynamics.

Experimental evidence and theoretical modeling suggest that piles of confined, high-restitution grains, subject to low-amplitude vibration, can serve as experimentally-accessible analogs for studying a range of liquid-state molecular hydrodynamic processes. Experiments expose single-grain and multiple-grain, collective dynamic features that mimic those either observed or predicted in molecular-scale, liquid state systems, including: (i) near-collision-time-scale hydrodynamic organization of single-molecule dynamics, (ii) nonequilibrium, long-time-scale excitation of collective/hydrodynamic modes, and (iii) long-time-scale emergence of continuum, viscous flow. In order to connect directly observable macroscale granular dynamics to inaccessible and/or indirectly measured molecular hydrodynamic processes, we recast traditional microscale equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics for dense, interacting microscale systems into self-consistent, macroscale form.

Evaluation of fiber-based tools for glass polishing using experimental and computational approaches.

Polymeric pad or pitch-based tools combined with loose abrasive slurries are typically used in the polishing of optical materials. In this paper, the potential of fiber-based tools to both remove material and provide high quality surface finishes on BK7 glass is explored. The potential advantage of fiber-based tools over traditional tools is their inherent compliance, which could accommodate varying workpiece surface curvatures as found in aspheres and freeforms.