Mirror Surface Metrology And Polishing For AXAF/TMA

Albert Slomba; Richard Babish; Paul Glenn

doi:10.1117/12.966560

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14 July 1986 Mirror Surface Metrology And Polishing For AXAF/TMA

Albert Slomba, Richard Babish, Paul Glenn

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Proceedings Volume 0597, X-Ray Instrumentation in Astronomy; (1986) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.966560
Event: 1985 International Technical Symposium/Europe, 1985, Cannes, France

Abstract

The achievement of the derived goals for mirror surface quality on the Advanced X-ray Astrophyscis Facility (AXAF), Technology Mirror Assembly (TMA) required a combination of state-of-the-art metrology and polishing techniques. In this paper, we summarize the derived goals and cover the main facets of the various metrology instruments employed, as well as the philosophy and technique used in the polishing work. In addition, we show how progress was measured against the goals, using the detailed error budget for surface errors and a mathematical model for performance prediction. The metrology instruments represented a considerable advance on the state-of-the-art and fully satisfied the error budget goals for the various surface errors. They were capable of measuring the surface errors over a large range of spatial periods, from low-frequency figure errors to microroughness. The polishing was accomplished with a computer-controlled process, guided by the combined data from various metrology instruments. This process was also tailored to reduce the surface errors over the full range of spatial periods.

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Albert Slomba, Richard Babish, and Paul Glenn "Mirror Surface Metrology And Polishing For AXAF/TMA", Proc. SPIE 0597, X-Ray Instrumentation in Astronomy, (14 July 1986); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.966560

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