Leica Mikroskopie Und Systeme Gmbh

Elke Preussner

Heinrich Gruenwald

Friedrich Scheerer

An emission-free process is described for cleaning precision optics and components of precision optics including the steps of first pretreating a surface of precision optics or a surface of components of precision optics by cleaning the surface in a cleaning bath to which surfactants have been added as wetting agents, circulating the cleaning bath and exposing the surface to ultrasound exposure. The surface then is rinsed with buffered water containing no wetting agents. The cleaning and rinsing steps then are repeated and the surface is rinsed with buffered, deionized water simultaneously with ultrasound exposure, and then sprayed with deionized water simultaneously with fresh water microfiltration. The pretreated surface then is subjected to short-wave UV radiation, highly accelerated electrons or glow discharge to degrade or convert organic impurities and surfactant residues present on the surface of the pretreated surface into carbon dioxide. The degraded surface then is treated by applying either organosilicon compounds or perfluorinated compounds that form a film having a thickness of between 10 and 100 nm on the glass surface under the pretreating and degrading condition, or by applying a non-volatile, hydrophobic substance that readily degrades under the degrading conditions below. The surface then is sealed by forming a film in the presence of UV or electron radiation to form a surface having a surface sealing layer, and then coated whereby the surface sealing layer is either degraded to metal oxide by glowing during coating or the surface sealing layer is activated by glowing during coating.

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Ritterhude, Germany

Elke Preussner