IBF Polishing
IBF polishing has a high degree of precision and control, enabling extremely high precision down to single nanometers, and is suitable for processing of optics that require extremely high surface quality and thickness.
Unlike mechanical polishing, IBF is a contactless process, suitable for a variety of materials, including metals, semiconductors, ceramics, etc. It is particularly suitable for materials that are sensitive to mechanical cutting. Before processing, the surface form errors need to be measured with an interferometer. Based on this surface profile, the software of the ion beam etching system calculates an individual dwell time map for each substrate and creates a recipe for the processing.
The ion beam shaping method uses an ion gun to bombard optical surfaces with ions, thereby removing material in a highly controlled and precise manner. It can polish customized optical devices with diameters up to thousands of millimeters with high precision, low error, and no sub-surface or edge defects.Highly accelerated ions arrive at the surface with considerable kinetic energy, causing atoms to be sputtered from the target surface. This method produces high-end surface quality with nanoscale precision but requires vacuum conditions and has relatively low material removal rates.
Therefore, ion polishing is usually the last step in the precision processing of optical components at Yudi and can effectively reduce the surface roughness of semi-finished components. By doing so, we can effectively improve efficiency and control production costs in mass production
How IBF Works at Yudi
Using IBF polishing breaks through the limitations of traditional polishing methods, allowing us to produce symmetrical, aspherical, or free-form optics required for high-specification projects. The result is a high degree of process flexibility, shorter production times, and higher quality.
Advantages of Ion Beam Figuring
No-contact Polishing
Ion beam forming is a non-contact processing technology that does not involve commonly used mechanical polishing tools, thus avoiding the effects of aging and wear that these tools can cause.
Removal rate stability
Ion beam shaping provides excellent removal rate control. The operator can precisely control the energy and flow rate of the ion beam to ensure the stability and consistency of the process.
No subsurface damage
It can accurately remove material without causing subsurface damage, allowing the substrate to maintain its original performance and quality.
Nanometer level precision
Ion beam forming has excellent processing accuracy and can achieve extremely high precision, even operating at the nanometer level.
Turn Your Optical Design into Optics
We utilize cutting-edge technologies and manufacturing techniques to design, prototype, and manufacture custom optical lenses, optical mirrors, and many more optical components to meet your requirements.
Explore Our Other Polishing Technologies
To meet the diverse optical requirements, Yudi takes advantage of each polishing technology to offer a real all-in-one custom optic solution to clients whether it is simple or challenging.
We have a large range of continuous single-sided polishing rings available in different sizes to accommodate the polishing of substrates from 3mm to 1000mm. Moreover, skilled technicians with 30 years of experience can handle the most intricate optical design.
Leveraging CNC polishing technology, Yudi excels in rapid mass production while seamlessly integrating intricate designs, superior precision, and cost-effectiveness.It has been the most widely used in common optic production.
Yudi Intelligent Robotic Polisher is equipped with an intelligent system to automatically achieve high-precision polishing, significantly improving efficiency and achieving sub-micron-level surface accuracy for manufacturing more complex optics.