Research on Subsurface Damage Measurement of Fused Silica in Ultra-Precision Grinding Based on Laser Damage Performance

Featured Application A new non-destructive rapid prediction method for subsurface damage in ultra-precision grinding of fused silica optics has been proposed. By introducing damage precursor detection technologies, accurate prediction of subsurface damage in ultra-precision grinding can be achieved, which can effectively guide the subsequent polishing process.Abstract In order to achieve accurate prediction of subsurface damage (SSD) in ultra-precision grinding of high-performance ultra-violet laser-irradiated fused silica optics, the paper combines damage precursor multimodal measurement technology with magnetorheological finishing spot method detection. Various methods such as photothermal weak absorption and fluorescence confocal imaging are used for measuring the surface roughness and subsurface damage depth of a series of fused silica samples prepared under different ultra-precision grinding parameters. The correlation between surface roughness and subsurface damage depth in ultra-precision grinding based on laser damage performance is established using curve fitting. The results indicate that there is a metamorphic layer below the subsurface crack layer, which can cause additional photothermal absorption. Subsurface damage is constituted of the subsurface crack layer and metamorphic layer. Under ultra-precision grinding conditions, the maximum depth of subsurface damage is generally 2.00-4.22 times the depth of the subsurface damage cluster. The roughness Ra and the subsurface damage cluster depth correspond to SSD(cluster) = 195 x Ra - 0.13. The maximum depth of subsurface damage can be predicted by measuring the Ra value, by which accurate prediction of defect depth in ultra-precision grinding and guiding the high-performance manufacturing of ultra-violet laser-irradiated fused silica optics can be achieved.