To provide a method for polishing a mold for molding an optical element to polish the mold for molding an optical element with high efficiency and high precision, and to provide the mold for molding an optical element and the optical element.
Since swell having same tendency in either a main scanning direction or an auxiliary running direction or both of them is present on the surface of the mold 1 for molding the optical element after superprecision cutting, polishing is carried out by effecting reciprocating movement of a polishing tool in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the swell is present. In this case, by measuring the shape of a work surface, a swell error is calculated, and in a tool route corresponding to a portion where the swell error is high, a removal amount by grinding is set such that a removing amount is increased and in a tool route corresponding to a portion where the swell error is low, a removing amount is set such that a removing amount is decreased. When polishing is effected in a main scanning direction, a removing amount of each of tool routes KL1-KL6 is set by combining together one or two or more of a load or a pressure applied on a polishing tool, the feed speed of the polishing tool, a pick distance, and the peripheral velocity of the tool and changing the combination, and the amplitude of the swell and surface coarseness are decreased.
ICHIKAWA KENICHI
SAKAE HIDETOSHI
CHO SUSUMU
