Abstract:
A method for fabricating a molding tool for mold glass optical elements therewith is taught. The method comprises the steps of figuring the molding tool to have a predetermined mold surface; applying an attenuating coating to the predetermined mold surface; implanting metal ions through the attenuating coating and into the predetermined mold surface; and removing the attenuating coating leaving the predetermined mold surface with metal ions implanted therein. The method of fabrication allows for the molding tool made therewith to be used for molding optical elements from eco-glasses such as titania at high temperatures without generating adverse surface chemistry effects in the molded element.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/230,908, filed Aug. 29, 2002. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to the compression molding of glass lenses and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for molding environmentally friendly glass (eco-glass) lenses using metal ion implanted mold tools.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Various methods and apparatus for the compression molding of glass optical elements are known in the prior art. With these methods and apparatus, optical element preforms (sometimes referred to as gobs) are compression molded at high temperatures to form glass lens elements. The basic process and apparatus for molding glass elements is taught in a series of patents assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Such patents are U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,347 to Engle et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,677 to Blair et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,961 to Blair. These patents disclose a variety of suitable materials for construction of mold tooling used to form the optical surfaces in the molded optical glass elements. Those suitable materials for the construction of the mold tools included glasslike or vitreous carbon, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, tungsten carbide, a mixture of silicon carbide and carbon, and glasses such as YAS-6. In the practice of the process described in such patents, a glass preform is inserted into a mold cavity with the mold tools residing in an open position. The mold tools reside within a chamber that is maintained in a non-oxidizing atmosphere during the molding process. The preform and the mold tools are then heat softened to bring the viscosity of the preform into the range from about 10 10  P to about 10 6  P. The mold tools are then moved to a closed position thereby pressing the preform to conform to the shape of the mold cavity. The mold and preform are then allowed to cool below the glass transition temperature of the glass. The pressure on the mold tools is then relieved and the temperature is lowered further so that the finished molded lens can be removed from the mold tools.  
         [0004]     With regard to the compression molding of near-net-shape glass optical elements, it is well known that a glass preform with a precision polished surface must be pressed between the upper and lower mold halves (or tools) of a mold. If, for example, a double positive lens (convex-convex lens) is to be molded, a spherical or oblate spheroid glass preform of the proper volume is placed between the mold halves. The preform is heated until the glass has a viscosity in the range of 10 6 -10 10  Poise, and is compressed until the mold is closed. Then, preferably, mold halves and the preform are cooled to a temperature below the annealing point and the preform is removed from the mold cavity. Such an arrangement is depicted in  FIG. 1 . The upper and lower mold halves  10 ,  12  compress a spherical glass preform  14  there between. The radius of the spherical glass preform  14  should be less than the radius of both of the concave mold surfaces  16 ,  18 . As the glass preform  14  is compressed, the glass flows generally radially outwardly from the center of the mold cavity thereby expelling any gas from the mold cavity. This results in the production of a double convex lens free from distortion due to trapped gas. Such molded lenses typically have accurate and repeatable surface replication relative to the mold.  
         [0005]     Depending on the final shape of the lens to be formed, specially shaped preforms are sometimes required to ensure that the glass flows from the center of the mold cavity to the peripheral edge of the mold cavity.  FIGS. 2 through 4  depict prior art arrangements for molding plano-convex, concave-convex, and concave-concave lens elements, respectively. In  FIG. 2  the upper mold half  20  includes a plano mold surface  22  and the lower mold half  24  includes a concave mold surface  26 . In such an arrangement, a spherical preform  28  is compression molded to produce a plano-convex optical element. In  FIG. 3  the upper mold half  30  includes a convex mold surface  32  and the lower mold half  34  includes a concave mold surface  36 . In such an arrangement, it is preferred to use a plano-convex preform  38  to produce a concave-convex optical element. The radius of the convex surface of preform  38  should be less than the radius of concave mold surface  36 . This ensures first contact between concave mold surface  36  and preform  38  substantially at the cylindrical axis or centerline of the mold halves  30 , 34  thereby causing the preform  38  to flow generally radially outwardly to prevent the trapping of gases. Similarly, the first contact between convex mold surface  32  and the plano surface of preform  38  is substantially at the cylindrical axis or centerline of the mold halves  30 ,  34  thereby also causing the preform  38  to flow generally radially outwardly to prevent the trapping of gases. In  FIG. 4  there is depicted another prior art arrangement wherein the upper mold half  42  includes a convex mold surface  44  and the lower mold half  46  includes a convex mold surface  48 . In such an arrangement, it is preferred to use a plano-plano preform  50  to produce a double concave optical element. The plano-plano preform  50  ensures first contact between the mold surfaces  44 ,  48  and preform  50  substantially at the cylindrical axis or centerline of the mold halves  42 ,  46  thereby causing the preform to flow generally radially outwardly to prevent the trapping of gases. Examples of such practices are cited in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,662,951 and 4,797,144.  
         [0006]     Although a wide variety of glasses have been used in precision glass molding, there remains a fundamental problem with the molding of oxide glasses. Some of the oxide glasses used for optical elements contain significant amounts of toxic heavy metals, such as lead. These glasses are fairly well behaved in the process and have long-been preferred for their high index of refraction and moldability among other factors. However, national and international regulations are being developed to limit or ban the use of products containing toxic substances such as lead, even in the form of lead oxide. For example, the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE, Brussels Jun. 13, 2002), does not allow the use of certain hazardous materials (including lead) in electronic devices that may be land filled at the end of their useful life. Based on this, there is an increasing interest in being able to handle environmentally safe glasses (herein often referred to as “eco-glasses”). There are glasses that use other metal compounds in place of the lead oxide, such as titanium oxide or titania, that are optically equivalent to the currently preferred glasses. However, when molding eco-glasses, such as titania based glasses, there is a chemical reaction between the titania glass and the mold surface which creates surface and subsurface defects rendering the molded lenses unacceptable for the intended applications.  
         [0007]     Ion implantation technology is well known and has been used extensively in the microelectronics industry. Ion implantation was applied in the fabrication of microelectronics sometime in the mid-1960s when semiconductor companies realized that P-N junctions and buried layers were possible using ion implantation. Numerous surveys reported that ion beams were used in significant numbers in the industrial sector by the 1970s. Early applications of ion beams were directed to the removal of material (now called etching) and deposition using non-reactive beams.  
         [0008]     In the early 1970s, it was found that ion implantation of metal surfaces could improve their wear, friction and corrosion properties. Ion implantation of specific tools is now preferred over other types of coating technologies because the ion implanted layer does not delaminate, does not require high processing temperatures to produce, and does not add more material on the surface (which would change the size of critical components). From the 1980s till today, their use has eventually progressed to reactive processes and property modification. Ion implantation is now used regularly to implant specific tools and equipment (e.g. score dies for aluminum can pop-tops and artificial knee and hip joints).  
         [0009]     In recent years, numerous modifications of traditional ion implantation were developed such as knock-in implantation; which is a method for production of ultra-shallow profiles in semiconductors. In some cases implantation is performed through an oxide to thereby knock oxygen atoms into a substrate, typically silicon crystals. The oxygen atoms that recoil build a layer in the crystalline silicon that is occupied by oxygen within a few lattice distances. Knock-in effect is introduced usually in the 100 Å range.  
         [0010]     Ion implantation technology has not been used for the purpose of modifying the surface of mold tool surfaces to be used in the molding glass optical elements such as lenses. Further, the prior art fails to teach the use of a temporary solid thin film layer, like hard amorphous carbon, to partially attenuate the kinetic energy of the ion implanting species prior to impact and thereby control the depth of implantation.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for molding optical elements from eco-glass preforms.  
         [0012]     It is a feature of the present invention to provide a method for molding optical elements that obviates bubble formation at the mold surface/preform interface.  
         [0013]     Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a method for molding optical elements from eco-glasses such as titania at high temperatures without generating adverse surface chemistry effects in the molded element. Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating molding tools which can be used to mold optical elements from eco-glasses such as titania at high temperatures without generating adverse surface chemistry effects in the molded element.  
         [0014]     Briefly stated, the foregoing and numerous other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon a review of the detailed description, claims and drawings set forth herein. These features, objects and advantages are accomplished by implanting the molding surfaces of the mold tools with high-energy metal ion species.  
         [0015]     In one embodiment, the invention resides in a method of molding oxide glass preforms to form optical elements comprising the steps of (a) assembling at least two molding tools into a molding apparatus to form at least one mold cavity therebetween, each molding tools having a predetermined molding surface with metal ions implanted therein, the implanted metal ions reacting with oxygen to form a solid phase material; (b) inserting an oxide glass preform in the at least one mold cavity; (c) heating the at least two of the molding tools and the oxide glass preform to at least the glass transition temperature of the oxide glass preform; and (d) compression molding the oxide glass preform into an optical element with the at least two of the molding tools. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a prior art molding apparatus for compression molding a convex-convex glass lens from a spherical or ball preform.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of a prior art molding apparatus for compression molding a plano-convex glass lens from a spherical or ball preform.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a prior art molding apparatus for compression molding a concave-convex glass lens from a plano-positive preform.  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of a prior art molding apparatus for compression molding a concave-concave glass lens from a plano preform.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a representation of a top plan view of an exemplary plano-plano molded lens.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of the exemplary plano-plano molded lens of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0022]      FIGS. 7, 8  and  9  all depict top plan views of exemplary plano-plano molded lenses all molded from an eco-glass preform using the prior art method of molding and showing the types of surface defects generated thereby.  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a phase diagram for a SiO 2 —TiO 2  system.  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional schematic of a molding apparatus (in an open position) used to practice the method of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional schematic of the molding apparatus of  FIG. 11  in a closed or molding position.  
         [0026]      FIG. 13  is a partially sectioned, side elevational view of a molding tool of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 14  is an enlarged view of the region within circle A of  FIG. 13 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 15  is a simplified Ellingham diagram describing the thermodynamic behavior of a metal with respect to the partial pressure of oxygen present at a given temperature.  
         [0029]      FIG. 16  is a basic schematic of an ion implantation system.  
         [0030]      FIG. 17  is a graph plotting implantation titanium ion implantation depth (Å) versus titanium concentration (ions/nm 3 ) showing the effect of implanting ions into a molding surface with and without an attenuating layer present. The attenuating layer in each case was an amorphous hard carbon.  
         [0031]      FIG. 18  is a graph of a typical ion concentration profile with respect to depth, made on any given plano mold.  
         [0032]      FIG. 19  is a partially sectioned, side elevational view of a molding tool of the present invention after the mold surface has been coated with an attenuating layer of carbon but prior to ion implantation.  
         [0033]      FIG. 20  is an enlarged view of the region within circle B of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 21  is a partially sectioned, side elevational view the molding tool of  FIG. 19  after the mold has been ion implanted with titanium ions through the attenuating layer of carbon.  
         [0035]      FIG. 22  is an enlarged view of the region within circle C of  FIG. 21 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0036]     Looking at  FIGS. 5 and 6  there is presented a representation of a top plan view and a side elevational view of an exemplary plano-plano molded lens  60  having an optical surface  62  that is free of defects.  FIGS. 7, 8  and  9  all depict exemplary plano-plano molded lenses  64 ,  66 , and  68  all molded from an eco-glass such as STIH-53 (Ohara Corporation, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) using the prior art method of molding. Each lens  64 ,  66 ,  68  molded from an eco-glass has a respective optical surface  70 ,  72 ,  74  that has defects therein which appear as bubbles  76 .  
         [0037]     It is theorized that during the molding process, there are changes in the structure that release oxygen from the glass in the form of oxygen gas or oxygen ions which then react with other materials in the proximity of the glass preform-mold tool interface and create gaseous compounds (such as CO &amp; CO 2 ) with enough pressure to form bubbles on the surface of the glass preform when Carbon is present at the interface. Phase equilibria studies suggest that SiO 2 —TiO 2  glasses with titania greater than 7-mol % may be metastable. Titanium oxide rich zones precipitate in the form of phase-separated regions where the titanium is tetrahedrally and octahedrally coordinated with oxygen. This behavior is not surprising in the light of the phase diagram shown in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0038]     Turning next to  FIG. 11  there is shown a cross-sectional schematic of an apparatus  80  used to practice the method of the present invention. The apparatus  80  of the present invention includes an upper mold fixture  82  and the lower mold fixture  84 . The upper mold fixture  82  has mounted therein an upper mold half or tool  86 . Upper mold tool  86  is depicted as having a molding surface  88  that is piano. However, molding surface  88  may have other surface figures or shapes such as concave (see  FIG. 1 ) or convex (see  FIG. 4 ). Lower mold fixture  84  has mounted therein a lower mold half or tool  90 . Lower mold tool  90  is depicted as having an exemplary molding surface  92  that is plano. However, molding surface  92 , like molding surface  88  may also have other surface figures or shapes. Both mold surfaces  88 ,  92  are metal ion implanted. Mounting of upper mold half or tool  86  within upper mold fixture  82  is accomplished with support member  94  residing in bore  96 . Similarly, mounting of lower mold half or tool  90  within lower mold fixture  84  is accomplished with support member  98  residing in bore  100 . A mold or lens cavity is formed between upper mold half or tool  86  and lower mold half or tool  90  when upper mold fixture  82  and/or lower mold fixture  84  are moved to a closed or molding position (see  FIG. 12 ). This relative movement may be accomplished by moving upper mold fixture  82  toward lower mold fixture  84 , or by moving lower mold fixture  84  toward upper mold fixture  82 , or by moving both upper mold fixture  82  and lower mold fixture  84  toward each other. Surrounding upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84  is a heating apparatus, preferably an induction-heating coil (not shown). In operation, a preform  102 , such as STIH53 titania glass (Ohara Corporation) is placed on mold surface  92 , and through actuation of induction heating coil, the temperature of the upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84 , mold tools  86 ,  90 , and preform  102  is raised to at least the glass transition temperature of the preform  102 . Then the perform  102  is pressed between the upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84  causing the preform  102  to deform and flow generally radially outwardly in the mold cavity. As the preform  102  flows radially outwardly, it substantially fills the mold cavity. Compression is performed to a positive stop at which point the upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84 , mold tools  86 ,  90 , and preform  102  are allowed to cool to below the glass transition temperature of the preform glass material, and preferably to below the annealing point of such glass. In such manner, an eco-glass lens  60  (see  FIG. 5 ) free of surface defects is formed. The molded lens can then be removed from the molding apparatus. It should be understood that upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84  are not necessarily directly heated by induction. Rather, upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84  preferably reside in a mold body (not shown) fabricated from a conductive material such as graphite or molybdenum. The mold body is heated by the induction field and the upper and lower mold fixtures  82 ,  84  are heated indirectly by conduction and radiant heat transfer.  
         [0039]     An exemplary mold tool  104  having a concave mold surface  106  is shown in  FIG. 13 . The mold surface  106  (see  FIG. 14 ) has a metal ion implanted subsurface layer  108 , with a metal such as titanium to a depth ranging from 0 to 200 Å. Mold tool  104  is preferably formed from silicon carbide. However, mold tool  104  may be fabricated from other materials including glasslike or vitreous carbon, tungsten carbide, refractory metals and their oxides, carbides or nitrides (e.g. W, Mo, Rh, Ir), silicon nitride, glass, such as YAS-6 (MO-SCI Corporation, Rolla, Mo.), fused silica, and a mixture of silicon.  
         [0040]     Lenses molded from eco-glasses using the method of the present invention are free from surface figure distortion that can be caused by the formation of bubbles at the interface between the mold surfaces and the glass preform during the molding operation. Experiments were conducted where STIH53 titania glasses (Ohara Corporation) were molded with titanium ion implanted mold tools  86 ,  90 . After suitable heating time, the mold fixtures  82 ,  84  were brought together compressing each glass preform  102  into a final molded shape. The viscosity of the preform  102  was less than 10 10 P during the compression step. As the glass perform  102  was compressed between the mold tools  86 ,  90 , the glass flowed generally radially outwardly and across the surface of the mold tools  86 ,  90  thereby substantially filling the lens cavity expelling nitrogen therefrom. In conducting this experiment, a force of 75 lbf. was applied to successfully mold optical elements (lenses). The viscosity, molding force, compression rate, lens mold geometry, location of the lens cavities relative to the initial location of the perform, and the sag of the lens mold will affect the propensity for void formation by stagnation, that is, the trapping of gas in the mold cavity. Typically, with mold glass lenses a release coating is applied to the mold surfaces, the preform, or both. The release coating is traditionally some variant of a hard carbon coating. However, there is an inherent propensity for carbon to react with any oxygen present and generate bubbles at the glass-mold interface, which could be trapped regardless of the inhibition created by the titanium ions implanted in the substrate. Therefore, alternate release coatings should be considered when necessary. It is preferred to place the release agent or coating on the mold surface rather than on the preform because the preform surface is remapped during the pressing operation. When the molding process is performed correctly, the curvature of the preform will always be greater than the curvature of the mold surface. In this way, the finished lens will always have a greater surface area than the surface area of the preform from which it was made. It is also possible to coat both the preform and the tool with a release coating other than carbon.  
         [0041]     The heater described is an induction-type heater. Heating could also be performed using other types of heaters such as, for example, radiant heaters, resistance heaters, infrared heaters, halogen heaters, etc.  
         [0042]     It is important to understand that the material choices for mold tools  86 ,  90 , ion implantation species, and release coating (if any) are made in relation to the particular eco-glass from which preform  102  is made. The ion species is chosen according to the kinetics and thermodynamics of the mold-glass interface interactions. One key to successful molding is choosing an ion implantation process that prevents the formation of a gaseous substance trapped between the mold-glass interface in the molding operation. For example, an alternate embodiment to the present invention could use a tungsten carbide mold tool implanted with zirconium, hafnium (e.g. Group 4 elements from the Chemical Periodic Table) or other reducing element. Reducing substances or elements are those substances or elements that, under certain environmental conditions, will react with oxygen thereby causing adjacent substances of interest to reduce their oxidation state, in some cases to their neutral or ground state. In thermodynamics, the formation of a compound by means of a solid-gas reaction can be described by equation 1 and can be plotted as shown in  FIG. 15 .  
               Δ   ⁢           ⁢   G   ⁢           ⁢   °     =     R   ⁢           ⁢   T   ⁢           ⁢       ln   ⁡     (     p     o   2       )         1   2                 (   1   )             
 
 where ΔG o  is the Gibb&#39;s Free Energy of Formation for any substance, R is the gas constant, T is temperature in degrees Kelvin and p O2  is the partial pressure of oxygen at equilibrium. By plotting several curves, one can choose an element such as Ti or Zr, which have much larger negative free energies than Si or C, which will allow for the formation of the solid oxides of Ti and Zr rather than CO 2 . However, there are limitations on the use of Equation 1 and it can only be used as a starting point for the selection of a candidate ion implantation species because equation 1 and the Ellingham diagram are only true when the reactions have reached equilibrium and the elements are pure. Once you introduce alloys and solutions, such as those existing in the glass preform  102  and the mold tools  82 ,  84 , the partial pressures of oxygen needed for a given reaction will be lower than the ones obtained by Equation 1. It is also necessary that the ion species form a solid oxide, soluble in the glass of interest to prevent the formation of a gas. Finally, if the materials chosen have met the conditions for solid-solution equilibrium at the interface, they must not create disturbances in the other physical and chemical properties of the glass of interest for preform  102 . 
 
         [0043]     Turning to  FIG. 16  there is depicted a basic schematic of an ion implantation system. In general an ion implantation system comprises an ion source  110 , which in a preferred embodiment of the present invention would be a titanium source. When a voltage is applied, an ion beam is generated and is accelerated and extracted through an extraction mechanism  112  and then filtered in an ion analyzing mechanism  114  dedicated to filtering the desired mass of the ion beam. The ion beam then passes through a second ion analyzing mechanism  116  that filters for the desired energy of the ion beam. The ion beam finally passes through a scanning station  117  that directs the beam to the substrate  118 , which in the case of the present invention is a mold tool surface for molding of glass optical elements. An exemplary ion implantation system that is suitable for use in the practice of the method of the present invention is the Eaton Nova 10-160 High Current Ion Implanter as sold by Eaton Semiconductor of Beverly, Mass. The resulting ion implantation profile for a given substrate is typically presented in atoms or ions/cm 3  versus depth in the substrate as seen in  FIG. 17 . These profiles can be estimated by using Equations 2 and 3 to calculate the mean projected range, R p , and the straggle, ΔR p . The mean projected range is a measure of the average penetration depth of the ions, and is defined as:  
               R   p     =       (       ∑   i     ⁢     x   i       )     N             Eq   .           ⁢   2             
 
 where N is the number of ions, and x i  is the perpendicular distance from the surface to the end of each ion track. Straggling is a measure of the width of the distribution and is given by:  
               Δ   ⁢           ⁢     R   p       =         (         ∑   i     ⁢     x   i       -     R   p       )     N               Eq   .           ⁢   3             
 
         [0044]     The objective of modeling efforts with regard to ion implantation is to predict the distribution of implanted ions for a given combination of ion species, ion energy and target species. To accomplish this task requires a detailed knowledge of how the ions lose energy during collisions.  
         [0045]     Several plano silicon carbide tools were implanted with titanium ions and energy ranging from 85 keV to 175 keV. In the experiments performed, the samples were implanted with a constant titanium dose of 1×10 15  ions/cm 3  ( 10  ions/nm 2 ). Initially there were concerns about the migration of the titanium ions from its original depth when subjected to high temperature molding conditions needed. Annealing experiments were performed and the migration of the peak ion concentration R p  with respect to depth was found to be insignificant. Actual measurements of the ion concentration with respect to depth were made on plano mold tools to verify the ion implantation profiles and to assess the effect of using the carbon coating. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, SIMS, was used to obtain the ion implantation profile shown in  FIG. 18 . The plot in  FIG. 18  is shown with concentration in ions/nm 3  instead of the traditional atoms/cm 3  because it is easier to understand the physical implication of the concentration of 1 titanium ion/nm 3  more than 1×10 21  titanium ions/cm 3 . Further, it can be seen that the experiments performed show how the peak concentration R p  (in reference to equation 2) becomes shallower with an increase in the thickness of the carbon coating.  
         [0046]      FIGS. 19 and 20  show an exemplary mold tool  120  after the mold surface  122  has coated with an attenuating layer  124  of carbon.  FIGS. 21 and 22  show the exemplary mold tool  120  after the mold surface  122  has been ion implanted with titanium ions through the attenuating layer  124  of carbon. The implanted region  126  extends to a depth of about 1500 Å, depending on the thickness of the carbon coating  124 . Following ion implantation, the carbon coating  124  is burned off the mold tool  120  yield the structure previously described with reference to  FIGS. 13 and 14 . Carbon readily oxidizes or burns forming carbon dioxide when subjected to air at temperatures greater than 300° C. The remaining mold tool  120  is left with a high titanium ion concentration near the mold surface  122  without any changes in the surface geometry required for molding glass lenses.  
         [0047]     From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects herein above set forth together with other advantages which are apparent and which are inherent to the process.  
         [0048]     It will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are of utility and may be employed with reference to other features and sub combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.  
         [0049]     As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.  
       Parts List  
       [0000]    
       
           10  Upper Mold Half  
           12  Lower Mold Half  
           14  Spherical Glass Preform  
           16  Concave Mold Surface  
           18  Concave Mold Surface  
           20  Upper Mold Half  
           22  Plano Mold Surface  
           24  Lower Mold Half  
           26  Concave Mold Surface  
           28  Spherical Preform  
           30  Upper Mold Half  
           32  Convex Mold Surface  
           34  Lower Mold Half  
           36  Concave Mold Surface  
           38  Plano Convex Preform  
           42  Upper Mold Half  
           44  Convex Mold Surface  
           46  Lower Mold Half  
           48  Convex Mold Surface  
           50  Plano Plano Preform  
           60  Plano Plano Molded Lense  
           62  Optical Surface  
           64  Plano Plano Molded Lenses  
           66  Plano Plano Molded Lenses  
           68  Plano Plano Molded Lenses  
           70  Optical Surface  
           72  Optical Surface  
           74  Optical Surface  
           76  Bubble  
           80  Apparatus  
           82  Upper Mold Fixture  
           84  Lower Mold Fixture  
           86  Upper Mold Tool  
           88  Mold Surface  
           90  Lower Mold Half or Tool  
           92  Molding Surface  
           94  Support Member  
           96  Bore  
           98  Support Member  
           100  Bore  
           102  Preform  
           104  Mold Tool  
           106  Concave Mold Surface  
           108  Metal Ion Implanted Subsurface layer  
           110  Ion Source  
           112  Extraction Mechanism  
           114  Ion Analyzing Mechanism  
           116  Second Ion Analyzing Mechanism  
           117  Scanning Station  
           118  Substrate  
           120  Exemplary Mold Tool  
           122  Mold Surface  
           124  Attenuating Layer of Carbon  
           126  Implanted Region