Abstract

Diamond machining can be an expeditious production method and can yield superior optical surfaces for some applications. However, diamond-machined surfaces are not equivalent to conventionally polished surfaces, and only by understanding the distinction can effective use be made of either method of fabrication. Diamond single-point machining is a "capital-intensive" fabrication method involving super precision, air-bearing, numerically controlled lathes. For the production of axisymmetric aspheric surfaces, this method offers a deterministic approach, and for sufficiently large quantities can be cost effective.

© 1981 Optical Society of America