Improvement of Conventional Polishing Conditions for Obtaining Super Smooth Surfaces of Glass and Metal Works

Summary In order to ensure the super smooth surface on specific optical devices used in short wavelength optics, a conventional optical polishing method has been improved. taking account of mechanical actions of abrasives, dusts and polisher surface structure. Soft tools as polisher. for instance pitches, waxes and new plastics, were applied to finish of fused quartz, stainless steel, etc. In pitch polishing, worked surfaces with fine abrasive powders and these mixed with coarse hers as a dust model were compared. By using the harder pitch polisher, surface roughness becomes the larger and its tendency is remarkable under dust conditions. Fused quartz works was polished with smooth fluorocarbon foam polisher instead of pitch polisher. Surface roughness value reachs less than 1 nm Rmax with CeO 2 powders. Under careful condition for dust, its value results in less than 0.5 nm Rmax with good success in using fluorocarbon foam polisher and fine SiO 2 powders.