Off-the-shelf PTFE as a fine polishing pad

B. Mullany; E. Corcoran

doi:10.1117/12.719769

14 May 2007 Off the shelf PTFE as a fine polishing pad

B. Mullany, E. Corcoran

Proceedings Volume 10316, Optifab 2007: Technical Digest; 103161F (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.719769
Event: Optifab 2007, 2007, Rochester, New York, United States

Abstract

In the 70's Leistner [1] demonstrated that PTFE (Teflon) coated substrates, when used instead of pitch coated substrates, have the ability to produce polished surfaces with low surface roughness (<2A°) and high flatness (<&lgr;/100). Their PTFE tool was made by painting and curing several layers of PTFE on a glass ceramic substrate, a time and labor intensive process. Over the years there has been an increase in the number of formats in which PTFE can be purchased. One such format is that of thin PTFE sheets with an adhesive backing. The potential of this user friendly PTFE format to replace pitch was investigated. A thin sheet of PTFE was adhered to metal substrate and used to polish a glass workpiece. Different polishing set-ups were investigated and the resulting surface finish measured. Best surface roughness values obtained on optical glass polished with an alumina based slurry was R_rms = 0.49nm (Zygo interferometer 50x). Under the same conditions a pitch tool produced a surface roughness value of R_rms >1.1 nm (Zygo interferometer 50x). The material removal rate with pitch tooling was approximately five times greater than that achieved using the PTFE sheet. While the results are not as good as that produced by Leistner, the work does illustrate the potential of an off the shelf PTFE sheet as a polishing pad. Should the entire process be further optimized lower surface roughness values should be obtainable.

Citation Download Citation

B. Mullany and E. Corcoran "Off the shelf PTFE as a fine polishing pad", Proc. SPIE 10316, Optifab 2007: Technical Digest, 103161F (14 May 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.719769

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KEYWORDS

Polishing

Surface finishing

Surface roughness

Glasses

Interferometers

Adhesives

Foam

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