JP2018012153A - Optical component manufacturing method and polishing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical component manufacturing method capable of forming a plain surface having a high surface smoothness, and a polishing method.SOLUTION: A dummy member 12 formed of a material having a hardness identical to that of an optical component 10 is arranged so as to clamp the optical part 10 at least along one arbitrary direction and so that the end portion of the dummy member 12 is higher than the height position of a polished surface P1, and the polished surface P1 of the optical component 10 is polished together with the end portion of the dummy member 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical component manufacturing method and a polishing method.

  Conventionally, various optical components such as a lens, a prism, a mirror, a beam splitter, and an isolator are used to control light. For example, a lens, a prism, or a mirror is used alone or in combination to control the light beam shape and the light traveling direction, and a beam splitter is used to branch or multiplex the light. Isolators are used to limit the direction to one direction.

  Many of such optical components have a flat surface on which light is incident, a surface on which light is emitted, or a surface on which light is reflected. For example, a plano-convex lens, which is a kind of lens, has either a plane on which light is incident or a plane on which light is emitted, and a triangular prism or beam splitter, which is a kind of prism, receives light. All of the surface on which light is emitted, the surface from which light is emitted, and the surface from which light is reflected are flat surfaces. The isolator has a plane in which the surface on which light is incident and the surface on which light is emitted are parallel to each other. Such a plane is formed, for example, by polishing an optical component.

  The following Patent Document 1 uses a polishing apparatus including a cylindrical base to which a rod, which is a polishing object, is bonded and fixed, and a correction plate that is configured so that the angle with respect to the substrate can be adjusted by fixing the cylindrical base. A method of polishing the end face of the rod in a state where the inclination of the rod is adjusted by adjusting the angle of the correction plate with respect to is disclosed. Patent Document 2 below discloses a method in which a transparent body, which is an object to be polished, is attached to a flat jig, and the end surface of the transparent body attached to the jig is polished on a polishing board. Patent Document 3 below discloses a method that is not related to polishing of an optical component, but is provided in a state in which a sample wafer is laminated between dummy wafers, and the object to be polished having the sample wafer sandwiched between the dummy wafers is polished. Yes.

JP-A-3-55157 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-136251 JP 2010-153614 A

  By the way, high flatness is often required for the plane of the optical component. For example, in a fiber laser device, an isolator provided to prevent adverse effects of the return light of the output light on the device has a light incident surface and light in order to prevent deterioration of the beam quality of the output light. High flatness is required for both of the surfaces to be ejected. Note that optical components other than the above-described isolator are also required to have high flatness in order to prevent, for example, changes in beam shape.

  When polishing an optical component using the polishing method disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, deformation of the polishing plate caused by the polishing surface of the optical component being pressed against the polishing plate (a peripheral portion of the polishing surface) Therefore, the polishing pressure at the outer peripheral portion of the polishing surface becomes higher than the polishing pressure at the central portion. As a result, the outer peripheral portion is excessively cut compared to the central portion of the polishing surface, and there is a problem that it is difficult to form a required flat surface having high flatness.

  In the polishing method disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above, since the laminated sample wafers are polished in a state of being sandwiched between dummy wafers, it is considered that occurrence of sagging of the sample wafer can be prevented. However, in the polishing method disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above, the polishing surface of the sample wafer and the polishing surface of the dummy wafer are aligned at the same height position. Here, setting the sample wafer and dummy wafer as described above means that the flatness of the polished surfaces of the two is different, the angle of the side surface of the sample wafer is slightly deviated from the dummy member, etc. For the reason, it is considered difficult because it requires a highly accurate height alignment. Therefore, it is considered that it is relatively difficult to form a flat surface having high flatness by the above polishing method.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a method for manufacturing an optical component and a polishing method capable of forming a plane having high flatness.

In order to solve the above problems, an optical component manufacturing method of the present invention is an optical component manufacturing method for manufacturing an optical component (10, 20) having at least one plane, which is the same as the material of the optical component. A dummy member (12, 22) formed of a material having hardness is disposed so that the optical component is sandwiched along at least one arbitrary direction, and an end of the dummy member is a polishing surface (P1, P2). A first step of placing the optical component so as to be higher than a height position, and a second step of polishing the polishing surface of the optical component together with an end of the dummy member until reaching a predetermined height position. Have.
Further, in the optical component manufacturing method of the present invention, the optical component is held by the holding member in a state where the polished surface is protruded from one end (E1, E11 to E14) of the holding member (11, 21). The dummy member is attached to one end of the holding member so as to sandwich the polishing surface protruding from one end of the holding member.
Alternatively, in the method of manufacturing an optical component according to the present invention, the optical component is a rod-shaped component, and the polishing surface at one end protrudes from one end of the holding member (11, 21) and the polishing surface at the other end. Is held by the holding member in a state protruding from the other end of the holding member, and the dummy member is attached to one end of the holding member so as to sandwich the polishing surface protruding from one end of the holding member, It is attached to the other end of the holding member so as to sandwich the polishing surface protruding from the other end of the holding member.
Moreover, the manufacturing method of the optical component of this invention combines at least 4 member (22a-22d) so that the said dummy member may surround the perimeter of the said grinding | polishing surface from 4 directions without gap.
In the optical component manufacturing method of the present invention, a plurality of the optical components are arranged in a first direction (D1) parallel to the polishing surface, and the length of the holding member in the first direction is at least It is set longer than the total length of the optical component in the first direction.
In the optical component manufacturing method of the present invention, in addition to the first direction, the optical component is arranged in a second direction (D2) that is parallel to the polishing surface and intersects the first direction. ing.
The polishing method of the present invention is a polishing method for polishing the polishing surfaces (P1, P2) of the polishing objects (10, 20), and is a dummy formed of a material having the same hardness as the material of the polishing object. First members (12, 22) are arranged so that the object to be polished is sandwiched along at least one arbitrary direction and the end of the dummy member is higher than the height position of the polishing surface. And a second step of polishing the polishing surface of the object to be polished together with the end of the dummy member until reaching a predetermined height position.

  According to the present invention, a dummy member made of a material having the same hardness as the material of the object to be polished is arranged so that the optical component is sandwiched along at least one arbitrary direction, and the end of the dummy member is a polishing surface. The polishing surface of the polishing object is polished together with the end of the dummy member until it reaches a predetermined height position, and the polishing pressure of the polishing surface is set to be higher than the height position of Since it can be made substantially constant over the entire polishing surface, there is an effect that it is possible to form a flat surface having higher flatness more easily than in the past.

It is sectional drawing which shows the outline | summary of the manufacturing method and polishing method of the optical component by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the to-be-polished body used in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method and polishing method of the optical component by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which grinding | polishing advanced in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st modification of the to-be-polished body in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the to-be-polished body in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline | summary of the manufacturing method and polishing method of the optical component by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the to-be-polished body used in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method and polishing method of the optical component by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the 1st modification of the to-be-polished body in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the to-be-polished body in 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing an optical component and a polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Below, the case where the optical component (for example, isolator etc.) which is a rod shape is manufactured is mentioned as an example, and is explained. In the drawings referred to below, the dimensions of each member are appropriately changed as necessary for easy understanding.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of a method for manufacturing an optical component and a polishing method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the object to be polished 1 provided with the optical component 10 that is the object to be polished is brought into contact with the polishing plate PB, and the object to be polished 1 and the polishing plate PB are moved relative to each other. By polishing the polishing body 1, the optical component 10 on which a flat surface having high flatness is formed is manufactured.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an object to be polished used in the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in a state where the upper surface of the object 1 shown in FIG. 2A is in contact with the polishing board PB. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the object to be polished 1 includes an optical component 10, a spacer 11 (holding member), and a dummy member 12.

The optical component 10 is a quadrangular prism-shaped (rod-shaped) member formed of an arbitrary optical crystal. For example, when the optical component 10 is an isolator, the optical component 10 uses a Tb ₃ (Sc, Lu) ₂ Al ₃ O ₁₂ crystal (TSLAG crystal), a Tb ₃ Ga ₅ O ₁₂ crystal (TGG crystal), or the like. Formed. For example, the length of one side (vertical and horizontal length) of the bottom surface of the optical component 10 is about several to several tens [mm], and the height is about 10 to 50 [mm].

  The spacer 11 is a square ring-shaped member made of, for example, glass, and is used for holding the optical component 10 and the dummy member 12. An insertion hole H1 (see FIG. 1) having substantially the same shape and dimensions as the shape and dimensions of the bottom surface (transverse section) of the optical component 10 is formed in the central portion of the spacer 11, and an optical hole is formed in the insertion hole H1. The component 10 can be inserted. The height of the spacer 11 is set lower than the height of the optical component 10 by a predetermined amount.

  The dummy member 12 is a quadrangular ring-shaped member made of a material having the same hardness as the material of the optical component 10 and is used to form a flat surface having high flatness on the optical component 10. Here, in the present specification, the “same hardness” is not limited to the fact that the Vickers hardness of the dummy member 12 and the Vickers hardness of the optical component 10 are equal, and the Vickers hardness of the dummy member 12 is equal to the optical component. It is also included that it is 85 to 100% of the Vickers hardness. Similar to the spacer 11, an insertion hole H2 having substantially the same shape and dimensions as the shape and dimensions of the bottom surface (transverse section) of the optical component 10 is formed at the center of the dummy member 12, and this insertion hole H2 is formed. It is possible to insert the optical component 10 into the optical disc 10.

  The dummy member 12 is attached and attached to one end E1 (see FIG. 1) of the spacer 11 so as to surround the entire side surface of the optical component 10 in the longitudinal direction without any gap. As shown in FIG. 2A, the thickness of the dummy member 12 is such that the height position of the upper end T1 is higher than the height position of the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 when attached to one end E1 of the spacer 11. Set to be higher. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the height position of the upper end T1 is set to be the same as the height position of the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 in a state where the spacer 11 is attached to the one end E1. The Note that the thickness of the dummy member 12 is set to be equal to or greater than the thickness at which the polishing surface P1 is polished.

  FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the method of manufacturing and polishing the optical component according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the optical component 10 that is an object to be polished is inserted through the insertion hole H <b> 1 formed in the central portion of the spacer 11. When the optical component 10 is inserted through the spacer 11 until the height position of the surface B1 opposite to the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 is the same as the height position of the other end E2 of the spacer 11, FIG. ), The optical component 10 is held by the spacer 11 with the polishing surface P1 protruding from one end E1 of the spacer 11. The optical component 10 inserted through the insertion hole H1 may be bonded to the spacer 11 using an adhesive.

  Next, the dummy member 12 is attached and attached to one end E1 of the spacer 11 from which the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 protrudes. At this time, the portion of the optical component 10 protruding from the one end E1 of the spacer 11 is inserted into an insertion hole H2 (see FIG. 1) formed in the central portion of the dummy member 12. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3C, the dummy member 12 surrounds the entire side surface of the optical component 10 in the longitudinal direction without any gap, and the height position of the upper end T1 is higher than the height position of the polishing surface P1. It arrange | positions so that it may become (1st process). In this way, the object to be polished 1 described with reference to FIGS.

  When the object to be polished 1 is formed, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the other end E2 of the spacer 11 (the end opposite to the side on which the dummy member 12 is attached) faces upward, The object to be polished 1 is arranged so that the upper end T1 is in contact with the polishing disk PB, and the object to be polished 1 is polished by relatively moving the object to be polished 1 and the polishing disk PB. When polishing the object 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 3D, the object 1 is brought into contact with a portion shifted from the center of the polishing disk PB, and the polishing disk PB is rotated clockwise in plan view. While being rotated, the object to be polished 1 is also rotated clockwise in a plan view separately from (independently from) the polishing plate PB. In addition, the rotational speed of the to-be-polished body 1 and the polishing board PB is, for example, about several tens to one hundred [rpm].

  The object to be polished 1 illustrated in FIG. 3C is arranged so that the height position of the upper end T1 of the dummy member 12 is higher than the height position of the polishing surface P1. For this reason, when polishing is started, only the dummy member 12 is polished, and the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 is not polished. When the polishing of the object 1 progresses and the dummy member 12 and the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 are flush with each other, the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 is polished together with the end of the dummy member 12 (first step). 2 steps). Note that the end portion of the dummy member 12 includes a planar one (end surface) and a tip having a convex shape. When this state continues until a predetermined time, the polishing of the object 1 is completed. When the polishing of the object 1 is completed, the optical component 10 is removed from the object 1.

While the workpiece 1 is being polished, the polishing pressure at the outer peripheral portion of the surface to be polished is higher than the polishing pressure at the central portion due to at least one of the following two causes. The polishing pressure refers to the surface (in the case of the outer peripheral portion) in contact with the polishing plate PB and the polishing surface P1 and the surface in contact with the surface of the polishing plate PB and the upper end T1 of the dummy member 12 (in the case of the central portion). It is the applied pressure.
First cause: When the object to be polished 1 is pressed against the polishing disk PB, the outer peripheral portion of the object to be polished 1 is deformed along the deformed surface of the polishing disk PB, and the object to be polished is deformed by the amount of deformation. The pressure on 1 increases.
Second cause: The polishing material contained in the polishing liquid is scattered to the outside by the rotation of the polishing disk PB, so that the pressure applied to the object 1 is increased by the amount of the scattered polishing material.

  Here, in the to-be-polished body 1, since all the side surfaces with respect to the longitudinal direction of the optical component 10 are surrounded by the dummy member 12 formed of a material having the same hardness as that of the optical component 10, there are no gaps. However, the polishing pressure of the polishing surface P1 is substantially constant over the entire polishing surface P1.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, since the polishing pressure applied to the dummy member 12 disposed around the polishing surface P1 is higher than the polishing pressure applied to the polishing surface P1, the surface of the upper end T1 of the dummy member 12 is Although the polishing surface P1 is scraped down and the flatness is deteriorated, the polishing pressure applied to the polishing surface P1 is lower than the polishing pressure applied to the dummy member 12, so that the polishing surface P1 is cut almost uniformly. It will be. Therefore, since a portion to be cut relatively much is limited to only the dummy member 12, it is possible to suppress the workpiece 1 from being cut more than expected as in the past. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where polishing has progressed in the first embodiment of the present invention. As described above, in this embodiment, since the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 is scraped almost uniformly, it is possible to manufacture the optical component 10 having a surface with higher flatness than the conventional one.

  Further, in the present embodiment, unlike the conventional case, since the high-precision height alignment between the polishing surface P1 of the optical component 10 and the end surface of the dummy member 12 is not required, the setting of the optical component 10 and the dummy member 12 is easy. Therefore, the optical component 10 can be easily manufactured. In this embodiment, the optical component 10 is held using the spacer 11, and the dummy member 12 is attached to the tip of the spacer 11. For this reason, since the dummy member 12 can be easily replaced as compared with the case where the optical component 10 is directly held by the dummy member 12, the manufacturing efficiency of the optical component 10 is further improved.

<First Modification>
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a first modification of the object to be polished in the first embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment described above, the case where the optical component 10 has a quadrangular prism shape has been described as an example. However, as illustrated in FIG. 5, it is also possible to manufacture a cylindrical (rod-shaped) optical component 10. However, since all the side surfaces of the optical component 10 in the longitudinal direction need to be surrounded without a gap by the dummy member 12 formed of a material having the same hardness as the optical component 10, as shown in FIG. It is necessary to use the spacer 11 and the dummy member 12 in which the shape insertion hole is formed. In addition to the cylindrical shape (rod shape), it is also possible to manufacture the optical component 10 having a polygonal column shape such as a triangular column shape.

<Second modification>
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a second modification of the object to be polished in the first embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment described above, the dummy member 12 is provided only at one end E1 of the spacer 11. However, it is also possible to provide the dummy member 12 at both ends (that is, one end E1 and the other end E2) of the spacer 11. Using such an object 1 to polish, both ends of the optical component 10 are polished by polishing with the one end E1 of the spacer 11 facing down and then polishing with the other end E2 of the spacer 11 facing down. Is possible. Thereby, both ends of the optical component 10 can be easily polished, so that the manufacturing efficiency of the optical component 10 is further improved. However, in this modified example, since both ends of the optical component 10 become the polishing surface P1, it is necessary to make both ends of the optical component 10 project from both ends of the spacer 11, respectively.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outline of a method for manufacturing an optical component and a polishing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, the object to be polished 2 provided with a plurality of optical components 20 that are objects to be polished is brought into contact with the polishing disk PB, and the object to be polished 2 and the polishing disk PB are moved relative to each other. By polishing the object to be polished 2, a plurality of optical components 20 on which a flat surface having high flatness is formed are manufactured at a time.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an object to be polished used in the second embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in a state where the surface (upper surface) of the object to be polished 2 shown in FIG. 8 is in contact with the polishing board PB. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the object to be polished 2 includes a plurality of optical components 20, spacers 21 (holding members), and dummy members 22.

  The optical component 20 is a quadrangular prism-shaped member formed of an arbitrary optical crystal, similar to the optical component 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, for example, the length of one side (vertical and horizontal lengths) of the bottom surface. Is about several to several tens [mm], and the height is about 10 to 50 [mm]. The optical components 20 are linearly arranged without a gap along the arrangement direction D1 (first direction) in FIG. In the present embodiment, the case where the number of optical components 20 provided on the object to be polished 2 is “10” will be described. However, the number of optical components 20 is arbitrary (one may be used, May be multiple).

  The spacer 21 is for holding the optical component 20 and the dummy member 22 similarly to the spacer 11 shown in FIGS. The spacer 21 is formed by combining four rectangular parallelepiped spacer members 21a to 21d made of glass, for example. The spacer members 21a and 21b are arranged so as to sandwich the optical components 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 in an orthogonal direction D2 orthogonal to the arrangement direction D1 (second direction: a direction intersecting the first direction in plan view). The spacer members 21c and 21d are arranged so as to sandwich the optical component 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 in the arrangement direction D1.

  The spacer members 21a and 21b are set such that the length in the arrangement direction D1 is longer than the entire length of the optical component 20 (the length in the arrangement direction D1 of the optical components 20 arranged linearly along the arrangement direction D1 with no gap). The length in the orthogonal direction D2 is set to about three times the length of the optical component 20 in the orthogonal direction D2. Further, the spacer members 21 a and 21 b are set to have a height lower than the height of the optical component 20 by a predetermined amount, like the spacer 11 shown in FIGS.

  The spacer members 21c and 21d have the length in the orthogonal direction D2 set to be substantially the same as the length in the orthogonal direction D2 of the optical component 20, and the length in the arrangement direction D1 is the spacer member 21a, The length is set to half the length obtained by subtracting the total length of the optical component 20 from the length of 21b. The spacer members 21c and 21d are set to the same height as the spacer members 21a and 21b.

  The dummy member 22 is used to form a flat surface having high flatness on the optical component 20 in the same manner as the dummy member 12 shown in FIGS. The dummy member 22 is attached to the spacer 21 around the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 so as to surround the entire circumference of the entire polishing surface P2 without a gap. Specifically, the dummy member 22 includes four plate-like members 22 a to 22 d formed of a material having the same hardness as the material of the optical component 20. As described above, in this embodiment, since the entire circumference of the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 is gripped by the dummy member 22 from four sides without any gap, this can occur on the four-side end side of the optical component that has conventionally occurred. It is possible to suppress the sagging and to manufacture the optical component 20 having a surface with higher flatness than the conventional one.

  The members 22a and 22b are attached and attached to the ends E11 and E12 of the spacer members 21a and 21b so that the optical components 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 are sandwiched in the orthogonal direction D2. The members 22c and 22d are attached and attached to one ends E13 and E14 of the spacer members 21c and 21d so that the optical components 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 are sandwiched in the arrangement direction D1.

  The members 22a and 22b are set such that the length in the arrangement direction D1 is at least longer than the total length of the optical component 20, and the length in the orthogonal direction D2 is about 2 to 3 times the length of the optical component 20 in the orthogonal direction D2. Is set. As a result, the corners of the object to be polished 2 at the left end and the right end can be more reliably covered with the members 22a and 22b, the pressure applied to the corners of the object to be polished 2 at the left end and the right end is reduced, and polishing sagging is suppressed. Is done.

  The members 22c and 22d are set so that the length in the orthogonal direction D2 is substantially the same as the length in the orthogonal direction D2 of the optical component 20, and the length in the arrangement direction D1 is at least that of the optical component 20 in the arrangement direction D1. It is set to about 2 to 3 times the length. Further, the height of the members 22a to 22d is the height of the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 when the height of the upper end of the members 22a to 22d is attached to the spacer 21 as in the dummy member 12 shown in FIGS. It is set to be higher than the position or to be the same as the height position of the polishing surface P2. The thicknesses of the members 22a to 22d are set to be equal to or greater than the thickness at which the polishing surface P2 is polished.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an optical component manufacturing method and a polishing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 9A, a plurality of optical components 20 that are objects to be polished are arranged linearly with no gap along the arrangement direction D1. At this time, when the shape of the bottom surface (transverse section) of the optical component 20 is rectangular, for example, the orientation of the optical component 20 is aligned so that the long side is along the orthogonal direction D2. The orientation of the optical component 20 may be aligned so that the long side is along the arrangement direction D1.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, the spacer members 21a and 21b are disposed so as to sandwich the optical component 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 in the orthogonal direction D2, and the optical component 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1. The spacer members 21c and 21d are arranged so as to be sandwiched in the arrangement direction D1. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 9B, all the optical components 20 are held by the spacers 21 in a state where the polished surface P <b> 2 protrudes from one ends E <b> 11 to E <b> 14 of the spacer members 21 a to 21 d that form the spacers 21. Note that an adhesive may be applied to the side surfaces of the spacer members 21a to 21d to bond the spacer members 21a to 21d and the optical component 20, and the spacer members 21a to 21d may be bonded to each other.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9B, the dummy member 22 is attached to one end of the spacer 21 from which the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 protrudes (one end E11 to E14 of the spacer members 21a to 21d forming the spacer 21). Specifically, the members 22a and 22b forming the dummy member 22 are bonded to the one ends E11 and E12 of the spacer members 21a and 21b so that the optical components 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 are sandwiched in the orthogonal direction D2. Install. Further, the members 22c and 22d constituting the dummy member 22 are attached to the one ends E13 and E14 of the spacer members 21c and 21d so that the optical components 20 arranged in the arrangement direction D1 are sandwiched in the arrangement direction D1.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 9C, the dummy member 22 (members 22a to 22d) surrounds the entire circumference of the entire polishing surface P2 protruding from one end of the spacer 21 (spacer members 21a to 21d) without gaps, and It arrange | positions so that the height position of the upper end T11 may become higher than the height position of the grinding | polishing surface P2 (1st process). In this way, the object to be polished 2 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 is formed.

  When the object to be polished 2 is formed, as in the first embodiment, the object to be polished 2 is polished with the other end of the spacer 21 (the end opposite to the side on which the dummy member 22 is attached) facing upward. The object to be polished 2 is brought into contact with the PB, and the object to be polished 2 and the polishing disk PB are relatively moved to polish the object to be polished 2 (see FIG. 7). Also in this embodiment, when the polishing is started, only the dummy member 22 is polished and the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 is not polished. However, when the polishing of the object 2 progresses, the polishing surface of the optical component 20 is advanced. P2 is polished together with the end of the dummy member 22 (second step). When this state continues for a predetermined time, the polishing of the object to be polished 2 is completed. When the polishing of the object to be polished 2 is completed, the optical component 20 is removed from the object to be polished 2.

  In the present embodiment, the entire periphery of the entire polishing surface P2 of the plurality of optical components 20 is surrounded by the dummy member 22 formed of a material having the same hardness as the optical component 20 without any gap. As a result, the polishing pressure applied to each of the polishing surfaces P2 of the optical component 20 can be made substantially constant, and each of the polishing surfaces P2 of the optical component 20 is scraped almost uniformly, so that a plane having high flatness is formed. A plurality of optical components 20 can be manufactured at a time. Accordingly, the plurality of optical components 20 can be easily polished, so that the manufacturing efficiency of the plurality of optical components 20 is further improved.

<First Modification>
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a first modification of the object to be polished in the second embodiment of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the plurality of optical components 20 are linearly arranged without a gap along the arrangement direction D1 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 10, in the orthogonal direction D2 in addition to the arrangement direction D1. The optical components 20 may be arranged. In FIG. 10, ten optical components 20 (first row optical components 20) arranged in a straight line with no gap along the arrangement direction D1 and a straight line with no gap along the arrangement direction D1. Ten optical components 20 (second row optical components 20) are arranged in the orthogonal direction D2 without any gaps.

  However, since the entire circumference of the polishing surface P2 of the optical component 20 needs to be surrounded without a gap by the dummy member 22 formed of a material having the same hardness as the optical component 20, as shown in FIG. 10, the orthogonal direction D2 It is necessary to use the spacer members 21c and 21d and the members 22c and 22d whose length is substantially the same as the length of the two optical components 20 in the orthogonal direction D2. The number of arrangements in the orthogonal direction D2 may be three or more. In this modification, it is possible to easily polish the plurality of optical components 20 arranged not only in the arrangement direction D1 but also in the orthogonal direction D2. Therefore, the plurality of optical components arranged in the arrangement direction D1 and the orthogonal direction D2. The production efficiency of 20 is further improved.

<Second modification>
FIG. 11: is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the to-be-polished body in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. In the embodiment described above, the dummy member 22 is provided only at one end of the spacer 21 (one end E11 to E14 of the spacer members 21a to 21d forming the spacer 21). However, the dummy member 22 may be provided at both ends of the spacer 21. Is possible. It is possible to polish both ends of the optical component 20 by using such an object to be polished 2 and polishing with one end of the spacer 21 facing down and then polishing with the other end of the spacer 21 facing down. It becomes. Thereby, both ends of the optical component 10 can be easily polished, so that the manufacturing efficiency of the optical component 10 is further improved. However, in the present modification, both end portions of the optical component 20 become the polishing surface P2, so that both end portions of the optical component 20 protrude from both ends of the spacer 21, respectively, as in the second modification example of the first embodiment. It needs to be in a state.

  The inventors of the present application actually polished the optical crystal using the polishing method according to the second embodiment described above, and measured the surface accuracy (reflected wavefront accuracy) of the polished plane. The polished optical crystal is a TSLAG crystal. The surface accuracy of the flat surface polished by the polishing method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment was 0.08λ. Note that λ = 633 [nm]. On the other hand, the surface accuracy of the flat surface polished by the conventional method using no dummy member was 0.51λ. From this result, it was confirmed that a plane having extremely high flatness can be formed by using the polishing method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment, It can change freely within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example of manufacturing a rod-shaped optical component has been described. However, the present invention is an arbitrary optical component having at least one plane (for example, a lens, a prism, a mirror, a beam splitter, an isolator, etc.). Can be manufactured. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the production of optical components, and can be applied to polishing of an object to be polished that requires high flatness.

  In the first embodiment, the case where each of the spacer 11 and the dummy member 12 is a single member has been described as an example. However, the spacer 11 and the dummy member 12 are also the spacer 21 of the second embodiment. Similarly to the dummy member 22, it may be composed of a plurality of members. Further, in the second embodiment described above, the example in which the spacer 21 includes four spacer members 21a to 21d and the dummy member 22 includes four members 22a to 22d has been described. The number of members constituting the dummy member 22 is arbitrary.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, a mode in which all side surfaces of the optical component 10 are surrounded by the dummy member 12 without a gap will be described. In the second embodiment described above, all side surfaces of the entire optical component 20 are dummy members. The aspect surrounded by 22 without a gap has been described. However, as long as the required flatness can be obtained, it is not always necessary that the entire side surface of the optical component 10 or the entire side surface of the optical component 20 is surrounded by the dummy member without any gap. It suffices if the optical parts are arranged along one direction. For example, in the second embodiment described above, among the members 22a to 22d forming the dummy member 22, the members 22c and 22d can be omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,20 ... Optical component, 11, 21 ... Spacer, 12, 22 ... Dummy member, 21a-21d ... Spacer member, 22a-22d ... Member, D1 ... Arrangement direction, D2 ... Orthogonal direction, E1, E11-E14 ... One end , P1, P2 ... Polished surface

Claims (7)

An optical component manufacturing method for manufacturing an optical component having at least one plane,
A dummy member formed of a material having the same hardness as the material of the optical component is interposed between the optical component along at least one arbitrary direction, and the end of the dummy member is positioned at the height of the polishing surface. A first step of arranging to be higher than,
A second step of polishing the polishing surface of the optical component together with an end of the dummy member until reaching a predetermined height position;
The manufacturing method of the optical component which has this. The optical component is held by the holding member in a state where the polished surface protrudes from one end of the holding member,
The dummy member is attached to one end of the holding member so as to sandwich the polishing surface protruding from one end of the holding member.
The method for manufacturing an optical component according to claim 1. The optical component is a rod-shaped component, and the polishing surface at one end protrudes from one end of the holding member and the polishing surface at the other end protrudes from the other end of the holding member. Retained,
The dummy member is attached to one end of the holding member so as to sandwich the polishing surface protruding from one end of the holding member, and the dummy member of the holding member is sandwiched between the polishing surface protruding from the other end of the holding member. Attached to the other end,
The manufacturing method of the optical component of Claim 2.   4. The method of manufacturing an optical component according to claim 2, wherein the dummy member is a combination of at least four members so as to surround the entire circumference of the polishing surface from four directions without gaps. A plurality of the optical components are arranged in a first direction parallel to the polishing surface,
The length of the holding member in the first direction is set to be longer than at least the total length of the optical component in the first direction.
The manufacturing method of the optical component as described in any one of Claims 2-4.   6. The method of manufacturing an optical component according to claim 5, wherein the optical component is arranged in a second direction parallel to the polishing surface and intersecting the first direction in addition to the first direction. A polishing method for polishing a polishing surface of an object to be polished,
A dummy member made of a material having the same hardness as the material of the polishing object is sandwiched between the polishing object along at least one arbitrary direction, and an end of the dummy member is the polishing surface. A first step of placing the first step higher than the height position;
A second step of polishing the polishing surface of the object to be polished together with an end of the dummy member until reaching a predetermined height position;
A polishing method comprising:

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