Thomas Westerhoff

Modeling of the thermal expansion behaviour of ZERODUR at arbitrary temperature profiles

Modeling of the thermal expansion behavior of ZERODUR® for the site conditions of the upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) allows an optimized material selection to yield the best performing ZERODUR® for the mirror substrates. The thermal expansion of glass ceramics is a function of temperature and a function of time, due to the structural relaxation behavior of the materials. The application temperature range of the upcoming ELT projects varies depending on the possible construction site between -13°C and +27°C. Typical temperature change rates during the night are in the range between 0.1°C/h and 0.3°C/h. Such temperature change rates are much smaller than the typical economic laboratory measurement rate, therefore the material behavior under these conditions can not be measured directly. SCHOTT developed a model approach to describe the structural relaxation behavior of ZERODUR®. With this model it is possible to precisely predict the thermal expansion behavior of the individual ZERODUR® material batches at any application temperature profile T(t). This paper presents results of the modeling and shows ZERODUR® material behavior at typical temperature profiles of different applications.

Zero expansion glass ceramic ZERODUR ® roadmap for advanced lithography

The zero expansion glass ceramic ZERODUR® is a well-established material in microlithography in critical components as wafer- and reticle-stages, mirrors and frames in the stepper positioning and alignment system. The very low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and its extremely high CTE homogeneity are key properties to achieve the tight overlay requirements of advanced lithography processes. SCHOTT is continuously improving critical material properties of ZERODUR® essential for microlithography applications according to a roadmap driven by the ever tighter material specifications broken down from the customer roadmaps. This paper will present the SCHOTT Roadmap for ZERODUR® material property development. In the recent years SCHOTT established a physical model based on structural relaxation to describe the coefficient of thermal expansion’s temperature dependence. The model is successfully applied for the new expansion grade ZERODUR® TAILORED introduced to the market in 2012. ZERODUR® TAILORED delivers the lowest thermal expansion of ZERODUR® products at microlithography tool application temperature allowing for higher thermal stability for tighter overlay control in IC production. Data will be reported demonstrating the unique CTE homogeneity of ZERODUR® and its very high reproducibility, a necessary precondition for serial production for microlithography equipment components. New data on the bending strength of ZERODUR® proves its capability to withstand much higher mechanical loads than previously reported. Utilizing a three parameter Weibull distribution it is possible to derive minimum strength values for a given ZERODUR® surface treatment. Consequently the statistical uncertainties of the earlier approach based on a two parameter Weibull distribution have been eliminated. Mechanical fatigue due to stress corrosion was included in a straightforward way. The derived formulae allows calculating life time of ZERODUR® components for a given stress load or the allowable maximum stress for a minimum required life time.

Zero-expansion glass ceramic ZERODUR: recent developments reveal high potential

ZERODUR® is a well-established material in astronomy and all fields of applications where temperature gradients might limit extreme precision and stability. Together with its rich heritage come a series of recent developments, which reveal the potential of the material for broader and more demanding applications. The outstanding degree of light-weighting achieved with progress in CNC grinding in the last two years shows its high suitability for space telescope mirrors. This is supported by new data on strength enabling higher mechanical loads. Also ground based telescopes benefit from the improved light-weight processing such as solar telescopes and downstream mirrors of extremely large telescopes. More and better data have been collected demonstrating the unique CTE homogeneity of ZERODUR® and its very high reproducibility a necessary precondition for large series mirror production. Deliveries of more than 250 ZERODUR mirrors of 1.5 m in diameter prove the availability of robust industrial serial production capability inevitable for ELT mirror segment production.

ZERODUR: progress in CTE characterization

In 2010, SCHOTT introduced a method for the modeling of the thermal expansion behavior of ZERODUR® under arbitrary temperature profiles for an optimized production of material for the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) projects. In 2012 a new product was introduced based on this method called ZERODUR® TAILORED. ZERODUR® TAILORED provides an evolution in the specification of the absolute Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) value by including the individual customer requirements in this process. This paper presents examples showing the benefit of an application oriented approach in the design of specifications using ZERODUR®. Additionally it will be shown how the modeling approach has advanced during the last years to improve the prediction accuracy on long time scales. ZERODUR® is known not only for its lowest CTE but also for its excellent CTE homogeneity as shown in the past for disc shaped blanks typical for telescope mirror substrates. Additionally this paper presents recent results of CTE homogeneity measurements in the single digit ppb/K range for a rectangular cast plate proving that the excellent CTE homogeneity is independent of the production format.

Progress in 4m class ZERODUR mirror production

The first monolithic ZERODUR® 4 m class mirror was ordered by the German Max Planck Institute for Astronomical Physics in 1968. A ratio of 1:6 for thickness to diameter ratio ensured the necessary stiffness to minimize deformation under gravity load. The technological ability to actively compensate the bending of the mirror substrate under gravity initiated the development from heavy non active thick mirror substrates to ever thinner thicknesses starting with the NTT, the New Technology Telescope of ESO. The thinner the mirror substrates are becoming the more demanding are the requests on homogeneity of material properties to ensure best performance over the clear aperture at every spot. In this paper we present results on material properties achieved for the 4 m class mirror substrates recently delivered by SCHOTT. The CTE homogeneity, the internal quality regarding striae, bubbles and inclusions as well as stress birefringence data are reported. Improvements in CNC processing and overall manufacturing process for the very thin 4 m class blanks are discussed.

Manufacturing of the ZERODUR 1.5-m primary mirror for the solar telescope GREGOR as preparation of light weighting of blanks up to 4-m diameter

The 1.5 m primary ZERODUR® mirror of the solar telescope GREGOR incorporates 420 pockets at the backside for active cooling to avoid the thermal load impact of the sun deteriorating the observation. This design is also under consideration for the 2 m Indian Solar Telescope and for the 4.2 m European Solar Telescope (EST). The tip and tilt M5 mirror of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) requires an even more demanding approach in light weighting. The approximately 3 m × 2.4 m elliptical flat mirror is specified to a weight of less than 500 kg. During the successful manufacturing of the GREGOR light weighted mirror, SCHOTT developed a systematic approach for processing such complex and long lead items which are capable for being up-scaled to a dimension of 4 m. In parallel SCHOTT has tested the machining of challenging aspect ratios of rib thickness and pocket height to prove the machinability of the E-ELT M5 design suggestions. The improved data on the bending strengths of ZERODUR® enable aggressive designs for light weighted 4 m class mirrors.

Lightweight high-performance 1-4 meter class spaceborne mirrors: emerging technology for demanding spaceborne requirements

Pending critical spaceborne requirements, including coronagraphic detection of exoplanets, require exceptionally smooth mirror surfaces, aggressive lightweighting, and low-risk cost-effective optical manufacturing methods. Simultaneous development at Schott for production of aggressively lightweighted (>90%) Zerodur® mirror blanks, and at L-3 Brashear for producing ultra-smooth surfaces on Zerodur®, will be described. New L-3 techniques for large-mirror optical fabrication include Computer Controlled Optical Surfacing (CCOS) pioneered at L-3 Tinsley, and the worlds largest MRF machine in place at L-3 Brashear. We propose that exceptional mirrors for the most critical spaceborne applications can now be produced with the technologies described.

Effects of thermal inhomogeneity on 4m class mirror substrates

The new ground based telescope generation is moving to a next stage of performance and resolution. Mirror substrate material properties tolerance and homogeneity are getting into focus. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) homogeneity is even more important than the absolute CTE. The error in shape of a mirror, even one of ZERODUR, is affected by changes in temperature, and by gradients in temperature. Front to back gradients will change the radius of curvature R that in turn will change the focus. Some systems rely on passive athermalization and do not have means to focus. Similarly changes in soak temperature will result in surface changes to the extent there is a non-zero coefficient of thermal expansion. When there are in-homogeneities in CTE, the mirror will react accordingly. Results of numerical experiments are presented discussing the impact of CTE in-homogeneities on the optical performance of 4 m class mirror substrates. Latest improvements in 4 m class ZERODUR CTE homogeneity and the thermal expansion metrology are presented as well.

ZERODUR: bending strength data for tensile stress loaded support structures

In the past ZERODUR® was mainly used for mirror and substrate applications, where mechanical loads were given by its own weight. Nowadays substrates become more sophisticated and subject to higher stresses as consequences of high operational accelerations or vibrations. The integrity of structures such as reticle and wafer stages e.g. must be guaranteed with low failure probability over their full intended life time. Their design requires statistically relevant strength data and information. The usual way determining the design strength employs statistical Weibull distributions obtained from a set of experimental data extrapolating the results to low acceptable failure probability values. However, in many cases this led to allowable stress values too low for the intended application. Moreover, the experimental basis has been found to be too small for reliable calculations. For these reasons measurement series on the strength of ZERODUR® have been performed with different surface conditions employing a standardized ring-on-ring test setup. The numbers of specimens per sample have been extended from about 20 to 100 or even much more. The results for surfaces ground with different diamond grain sizes D151, D64 and D25 as well as for etched surfaces are presented in this paper. Glass ceramics like all glassy materials exhibit some strength reduction when being exposed to loads above a tensile stress threshold over long time periods. The strength change of ZERODUR® with time will be discussed on the basis of known and newly determined stress corrosion data. The results for samples with large numbers of specimens contribute new aspects to the common practice of extrapolation to low failure probability, since they provide evidence for the existence of minimum strength values depending on the structures surface conditions. For ground surfaces the evidence for minimum strength values is quite obvious. For etched surfaces minimum values are to be expected also. However, here closer observation is still needed. The systematic deviations from Weibull distributions lie below about 5 % failure probability and thus could not be seen in small samples as they were common in the past.

CTE characterization of ZERODUR® for the ELT century

This review paper summarizes the extensive investigations that have been performed at SCHOTT to achieve a deeper understanding of the CTE homogeneity of ZERODUR® within single blanks and the casted formats (boules). Especially for the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) projects like E-ELT or TMT with at least several hundreds of mirror segments the reproducibility of the mean CTE, CTE homogeneity and axial gradient is very important while keeping the CTE quality assurance process economic at the same time. Statistics of CTE homogeneity measurements on a ZERODUR® boule suitable for an economical production of ELT mirror substrates using the improved dilatometer will be presented. It will be shown, that it is possible to achieve tight CTE specifications by utilisation of processes existing at SCHOTT, while at the same time guaranteeing a long term reproducibility. The CTE measurement is optimized for a temperature interval from 0°C to 50°C. We developed a model to extrapolate the CTE behaviour to specific temperature conditions at the telescope site.