Fyzikální ústav Akademie věd ČR

The main task of the optical workshop is a preparation of speciemens for further measurements and production of optical elements. Various optical technologies are used. The workshop is equipped with various types of saws for cutting of bulk materials. For basic work we use 3 diamond sintered disc saws which can cover range of diameter of the material from few millimetres up to 300 mm. For more accurate work annual saws are used with maximum possible diameter about 40 mm. The last type is free abrasive wire saw. Another used technology is grinding. The various materials are used according to demand. This step is crucial for resulting accuracy of the final product. Final step is polishing performed on pitch or polishing cloth with resulting surface roughness a few nm and high flatness. The extreme case is polishing of substrate with dimensions 10x10 mm, plane parallelity better than 1 um and thickness up to 100 um. Another frequent task is manufacturing of cylinders with diameter less than 1 mm, length more than 5 mm and tolerance 0.01 mm. The optical workshop also participates on development of silicon monochromatores for synchrotron radiation. The production and final quality of products is checked in adjacent optical laboratory. The workshops is also collaborating with other laboratories for special measurements that cannot be performed in our laboratory; examples are surface roughness measurement or crystal orientation using X-rays.