Fabrication of an unusual mosaic lens
The design philosophy and the construction techniques to make a novel mosaic lens to collect Cerenkov radiation are described. The lens blanks were rough cut into segments by a water jet. The segments were cut to the final inner and outer diameters by ultrasonically assisted machining, an unusual new technique developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The technology will soon be available to the public through Sonic Mill, Inc., 3820 Academy Parkway North, NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109. The advantage of ultrasonically assisted machining lies in rapid, accurate shaping of brittle materials such as ceramics and glass, which can, by this technique, be shaped about as fast as aluminum.