FIXED ABRASIVE GRINDING OF CVD SIC MIRRORS

A strategy for machining ceramic (silicon carbide) mirrors is describe d. By taking advantage of the relative ductility of ceramics compared with that of glass, ft is shown that fixed-abrasive, ultraprecision gr inding is a viable fabrication process for high-performance aspheric m irrors. Also, it is shown that ductile grinding of ceramic substrates can produce optical quality surfaces, particularly in infrared applica tions. Laboratory-scale ductile-regime grinding of chemically vapor de posited silicon carbide is described, as is a scale-up of the technolo gy to a commercially available ultraprecision machine tool that has be en retrofitted for grinding aspheric ceramic components.