Correlation between contact surface and friction during the optical glass polishing

This study aims to determine the correlation between the contact surface, the polishing pressure and the friction coefficient during the optical glass polishing. For this purpose, BK7 optical glass samples were polished and the mentioned parameters were measured to find a correlation between them. Several methods of characterization have been used; the mechanical profilometer, the AFM, and in addition setups for measuring forces and the contact surface have been developed and adapted to the polishing machine. The found results have shown the existence of a close relationship between the three parameters and the influence of each other. This have allowed to deduce that during the polishing process it is very important to control the contact pressure and the polisher form according to the pressure distribution in order to guarantee a very high quality of the polished surface.