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Design for manufacturing and assembly of deep UV to long-wave infrared systems.
I worked as an Opto-Mechanical Engineer at Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. (RMI) from August 2023 to May 2026.
Here I lead the optical assembly team and support manufacturing of both optical and mechanical components for a variety of industries.
Large Optical Body for Emissions Analysis
Designed a pseudo-monolithic optical body to maximize internal viewing integrating sapphire windows into a precision-machined frame to allow use at temperatures up to 1000°F (600°C). A specialty adhesive was selected for its low outgassing, thermal compatibility, and long-term stability in harsh environments. Bond line geometry and surface preparation were carefully controlled along with material CTE's to provide a sealed, mechanically robust optical assembly for laser-based emissions analysis.
IP67-Rated Eyepiece with Diopter Adjustment
Designed opto-mechanics for a four-element magnifying eyepiece working with highly limited interface control due to upstream design constraints. The mechanical layout utilizes a drop-in lens stack with precision spacers all retained within a sealed outer housing. A diopter adjustment mechanism was integrated in the housing body along with several glands for O-rings requiring careful consideration of compression set, sealing performance, and assembly tolerances.
Three-Axis Polarization-Dependent Michelson Interferometer
Each leg in this interferometer has a beam splitter that sends the incoming beam to both a stationary and a vibrating mirror. After the beam is returned, a second beam splitter further splits the beam by polarization state to seperate photodiodes. The photodiodes read the two signals in quadrature to measure nanometer-level displacements of the mirrors in all three axes.
To complicate the mechanical design, it was desirable to have the optical components arranged at a specific angle so that gravity affected each leg evenly, rather than a typical XYZ configuration. This is called a Galperin configuration and can greatly increase system sensitivity.
Several concepts were explored and line of sight analysis was performed to settle on a design with minimal adjustability points for a simplified assembly process with less points for failure.
Mid-Wave Infrared Shearing Interferometer
This custom Mid-Wave Infrared shearing interferometer was developed to address a lack of commercially available metrology tools outside the visible spectrum. The design features an uncoated Zinc Selenide wedged flat, with the plate thickness and angle calculated to produce high-visibility interference fringes compatible with IR camera sensor resolutions. By focusing on the specific refractive properties of ZnSe in the mid-wave band, the instrument provides high-contrast diagnostic data for real-time beam profiling and wavefront characterization.
The mechanical design emphasizes modularity and precision through a pseudo-kinematic mounting system. The optical element is bonded into a carrier plate featuring precision ball bearings that interface with a fixed "Vee" configuration, ensuring sub-micron repeatability during installation. This approach allows for rapid interchangeability, enabling the user to swap between different optical thicknesses to accommodate various beam diameters while maintaining strict alignment integrity within the optical train.
Reverse Engineering of UV Focusing Doublet
After a focusing doublet was sent in for reverse engineering, the lenses were disassembled and measured for tangible features like outer diameter, center thickness, and landing size. Next, a Fizeau interferometer was used to measure the radius of curvature for all four lens surfaces, a white light interferometer was used to check for surface roughness, and a spectrophotometer was used to check for any coating. Lens, housing, and spacer materials were all identified using density. Finally, the prescription was input into Zemax to verify system performance and evaluate manufacturing tolerances to produce the lenses in-house.
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