Investigation of the surface layer formed during the processing of quartz glass using mechanochemical and ionic polishing

Quantitative studies of the optical parameters of the surface layer formed during the polishing of quartz glass have been carried out. It is shown that the mechanism of formation of the surface layer when using the methods of mechanochemical and ion polishing has much in common. In both cases, the appearance of a surface layer, which differs by a high refractive index from the corresponding bulk properties of glass, is associated with the stress and breaking of the Si–O–Si bridge bonds during hydrolysis during glass polishing. The hydrolysis of Si–O–Si bonds is associated with the formation of Si–O and Si–OH groups, which leads to an increase in the refractive index of the surface layer.