skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Acidic magnetorheological finishing of infrared polycrystalline materials

Journal Article · · Applied Optics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.55.008448· OSTI ID:1328775

Here, chemical-vapor–deposited (CVD) ZnS is an example of a polycrystalline material that is difficult to polish smoothly via the magnetorheological–finishing (MRF) technique. When MRF-polished, the internal infrastructure of the material tends to manifest on the surface as millimeter-sized “pebbles,” and the surface roughness observed is considerably high. The fluid’s parameters important to developing a magnetorheological (MR) fluid that is capable of polishing CVD ZnS smoothly were previously discussed and presented. These parameters were acidic pH (~4.5) and low viscosity (~47 cP). MRF with such a unique MR fluid was shown to reduce surface artifacts in the form of pebbles; however, surface microroughness was still relatively high because of the absence of a polishing abrasive in the formulation. In this study, we examine the effect of two polishing abrasives—alumina and nanodiamond—on the surface finish of several CVD ZnS substrates, and on other important IR polycrystalline materials that were finished with acidic MR fluids containing these two polishing abrasives. Surface microroughness results obtained were as low as ~28 nm peak-to-valley and ~6-nm root mean square.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0001944
OSTI ID:
1328775
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1328810
Journal Information:
Applied Optics, Vol. 55, Issue 30; ISSN 0003-6935
Publisher:
Optical Society of America (OSA)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 4 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science