Polishing of fused silica by laser-enhanced plasma at the atomic and close-to-atomic scale

Abstract

Fused silica is widely used in optical systems such as imaging devices, spectrophotometers and telescopes, where surface quality and morphology play critical roles in product performance. To address these stringent requirements, this study proposes a novel laser-enhanced plasma method. This approach integrates a controlled laser beam into plasma processing, which locally activates the fused silica and increases the concentration of plasma active particles by ∼15 %. The technique facilitates both surface roughness and morphology, achieving a surface roughness of 0.28 nm in Sa and a shape error of 7.64 nm in RMS.