Abstract

The role of surface charge effects is a subject of increasing interest in optical finishing [1 - 3]. This represents an intersection of the empirically driven world of the optician with the more fundamentally oriented field of colloid science. In this paper, we examine the effect of slurry fluid chemistry on the performance of a planar continuous glass polishing process using the electrokinetic methods of colloid science to characterize the properties of optical glass and polishing agents. The goal is to understand any consequences of the chemically modulated development of electric charge on the surfaces of metal-oxide polishing agents and glass surfaces during aqueous polishing. Our discussion here is confined to experimental work using nine combinations of commercially important silicate optical glass types (Schott BK7 borosilicate crown and SF6 dense flint and Corning 7940 fused silica) and metal-oxide polishing agents (CeO₂ [4], monoclinic ZrO₂ and nanocrystalline AI₂O₃ [5]). A more extensive study of the polishing process is the subject of the first author’s doctoral dissertation [6].

© 1994 Optical Society of America