Device for Determining the Contour of the Visible Area of Optical Elements (Contourograph)

This work presents a device for determining the contour of the visible area of optical elements (contourograph) designed for precise correlation of the coordinates of the visible area of the optical part with its physical dimensions. The developed device ensures the determination of the coordinates of the processed surface with an accuracy of ±2.5 μm, which is necessary for high-precision ion-beam processing. The contourograph is capable of outlining objects of arbitrary shape, including curved ones, as well as the contours of objects oriented at arbitrary angles relative to the linear motorized translators of the device. The high accuracy of determining the position of the processed surface directly affects the quality of ion-beam processing, which allows for significant improvement in the characteristics of the optical element and, consequently, the optical system as a whole. During the work, the contourograph was successfully applied in the manufacturing of a substrate for the element of a two-mirror monochromator for station 1-1 “Microfocus” of the 4th generation synchrotron “SKIF” (Novosibirsk, Russia), demonstrating its practical significance and efficiency. By using the contourograph, an optical surface with the required characteristics was achieved, with the root mean square deviation of the surface reduced by 25 times, from the initial 25.7 to 1.0 nm.