508
J. Eur. Opt. Society-Rapid Publ. 22, 51( 2026)
Figure 12. Surface topography measurement of a conventional manufactured fused silica surface( Sample # 4):( A) initial state,( B – E) after progressive PJE, where the etching removal d is given.( F) 2D-Gaussian fit of the centered defect to visualize the progress of the SSD which is initially not present.
correlation between IF max or the maximum slope S VV, respectively, and SSD depth provides also a robust method for SSD characterization of conventionally manufactured samples.
5 Conclusion
The paper presents a method of destructive determination of SSD depth in fused silica surfaces by atmospheric plasma jet etching. By modeling a resulting etched surface topography assuming isotropic etching and comparison with experimentally etched surface topography, loci of anisotropic etching have been identified. Based on the analysis SSD depths were determined. Furthermore, the representation of surface positions where isotropy factors larger than 1 occur, as a depth plot help to elucidate the morphological structure of radial and median cracks causing SSD. The comparison with OCT measurements have proven the usability of the described method for SSD characterization. Hence, the developed method, eventually combined with other SSD characterization method provides valuable information for a more in-depth understanding of SSD propagation in the future.