Surface shape development of the pitch lap under the loading of the conditioner in continuous polishing process

Continuous polishing using the pitch lap is a key process in finishing large flat optical elements. The optical elements’ surface figure is primarily dependent on the surface shape of the pitch lap, which is controlled by a large‐size conditioner. However, underlying fundamentals of the process control is not yet clear, and it remains empirical and nondeterministic to date. In this study, a novel analysis model is proposed for exploring the...