High quality optically polished aluminum mirror and process for producing
A new technical advancement in the field of precision aluminum optics permits high quality optical polishing of aluminum monolith, which, in the field of optics, offers numerous benefits because of its machinability, lightweight, and low cost. This invention combines diamond turning and conventional polishing along with india ink, a newly adopted material, for the polishing to accomplish a significant improvement in surface precision of aluminum monolith for optical purposes. This invention guarantees the precise optical polishing of typical bare aluminum monolith to surface roughness of less than about 30 angstroms rms and preferably about 5 angstroms rms while maintaining a surface figure accuracy in terms of surface figure error of not more than one-fifteenth of wave peak-to-valley.