Physico-chemical properties of solvents for cleaning metal optics in order to increase its service life

摘要

Metal mirrors are widely used in IR optics, including high-power lasers, due to the high reflection coefficient. Traditional methods of wiping optical devices are not applicable in this case, due to the formation of scratches caused by the low hardness of metals. Cleaning metal optics from a significant part of organic impurities noticeably increases the service life of high-power laser mirrors. Removing dirt from metal optics is most effective with a mixture of non-aqueous solvents. Methods for selecting solvents, analyzed on the basis of the laws of thermodynamics and experiments carried out, make it possible to recognize that it is advisable, when cleaning mirrors, to use solvent compositions based on azeotropic mixtures with freon-11482 with a solubility parameter δ corresponding to or close to the solubility parameter δ of the main (by mass) contaminations.