custom optics system for use with FLCOS system.

[trisp3ar]

Requierements to be specified.

[dom186]

Silicone on Vacuum chamber is curing should be cured by tomorrow.

[dom186]

The second lens made with NOA61 looks better after I let it dry in air a few days than it did before. Weird fragments on what I think is the surface as well as embedded bubbles that are reducing image quality.

• Addressing the bubbles through vacuum degassing once chamber is cured.

• Not sure the cause of the other defects in the lens, maybe due to uneven curing maybe curing too fast?

• Not going to waste more of the expensive NOA61 going to go back to the cheap Chinese optical adhesive until I can develop a robust process and techniques for making lenses reliably. As stated by the researches the process for creating lenses should work the same no matter the adhesive or resin used.

• Once good optical clarity is achieved next step will be to design an biconvex spherical optic and make it. I'm thinking making an optic to replace the lens in the current BPNVG.

• Once that is achieved we should validate our process by making:

  • Aspheric lenses
  • Plano convex lenses
  • biconcave lenses
  • Doublet lenses

• Once our process has been validate for these lenses we could work on developing a method for controlling volume to create

  • maniscus lenses

[dom186]

Taking a step back from trying to make a spherical optic. Am going to spend time working out the problems I'm having with optical quality. Going to focus on making flats on glass slides and trying different curing methods to see if that impacting the quality of the lens.

[dom186]

Update: created some optics in air that looked good but when trying in water it failed again. Thinking water is causing some reaction with the polymers and making it not possible to achieve a good surface finish.

Success in making optical flat using acrylic by hand polishing. Pivoting to thermoplastic lenses after the success. Created and currently printing some hard tooling to create spherical surfaces onto the lenses. Need to determine adhesive solution for the sand paper to adhere it to the hard tooling.

[dom186]

Created first acrylic Plano convex lens.

Problems:

• Paper is too fragile to fining pad
  • Need to use polyester such as spunbond web or film backed adhesive. Or just purchase actual fining pads.
• adhesive used was too tacky and too flexible, almost like a gel. Was too difficult to cut into fining pad shape.
  • Need to preferably use a pressure sensitive rubber resin adhesive tape
• Hand polishing takes a long time and a lot of effort. Especially hand roughing the surface curvature with sand paper was very difficult and time consuming.
  • need to make at least some kind of spindle to help with rotating the optic.
  • would be nice to CNC the parts prior to fining and polishing
• Sphere center is not radially collinear with the axis of the lens
  • this problem could be alleviated with CNC machine also
• No way to measure accuracy of curvature
  • need a spherometer... preferably digital
• Lens still has visible scratches. Need to improve polishing process. Also need better protection on the finished side when polishing the opposite side.
  • need to purchase lens surface tape
  • need to semi automate the polishing process to "dial it in"
• Currently no way to measure focal length of lens.
  • need to research easiest method to measure focal length.