by Kelly Green, Coordinator of Research Communications
OSU receives $99K from II-VI Foundation
(May 5, 2009 Stillwater, OK) – Oklahoma State University received a $99,000 award on Monday from the II-VI Foundation. The award, which was presented by II-VI (pronounced “two-six”) Chairman Dr. Carl Johnson, will support a one-year research study of the subsurface damage imparted to single-crystal YAG by by various stages of commercial finishing. The work will be conducted by undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students under the direction of Dr. Don Lucca, Regents professor in the school of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
YAG is a man-made crystal material used in lasers. YAG has also recently found application as a substrate for optical components like prisms and mirrors. The process of finishing YAG crystals, however, often damages their surface and weakens their performance. This study will focus on surfaces created by ultrafine finishing, including fine grinding with subsequent wet etching, mechanical polishing and chemomechanical polishing. Surface and near-surface damage will be investigated with the use of high-resolution surface characterization techniques.
“Our goal is to determine what types of damage are imparted to the crystal during different finishing processes,” Lucca said. “We will investigate how those processes render the crystal less than perfect, which could aid in the discovery of new surface finishing methods to enable the crystal’s optimum performance.”
“This project will build on the great work Dr. Lucca and his students are already conducting on the manufacture of complex optics,” said Dr. Stephen McKeever, OSU vice president for research and technology transfer. “We thank the II-VI Foundation and Dr. Johnson for their support of this project.”
The II-VI Foundation was formed in April 2007 by Carl Johnson and his wife, Margot, with the goal of encouraging students to pursue careers in engineering and science. The foundation shares its name with II-VI Incorporated, a company also founded by Johnson in 1971. II-VI Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of lenses, mirrors, prisms and other optical components used to manipulate laser beams.
Back row-Dr. Larry Hoberock, head of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering;
Dr. Alan Tree, associate dean for research for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology; Dr. Don Lucca, Regents professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Dr. Karl Reid, dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology
Front row-Dr. Carl Johnson, chairman of the II-VI Foundation;
Dr. Stephen McKeever, vice president for research and
technology transfer
