Analysis of nozzle design used for the creation of advanced energy beam

A variety of scientific and industrial projects, such as segmented ground based telescopes, compact space based observers, short wavelength microlithography and high power laser systems, demand metre scale ultra-precise surfaces [1]. Cranfield University and Loxham Precision have been engaged in developing effective fabrication of medium to large optical surfaces for the aforementioned applications. A process chain of three sequential machining steps has been proposed (Figure 1). These steps are ultra-precision grinding, robot based polishing and plasma figuring. The fabrication target is to reach a 20 hours cycle time for each stage of surface generation for 1.5m size optics: equating to 1ft2 per hour [2-3].