Development of nanolaminate thin-shell mirrors

Abstract

The space science community has identified a need for ultra-light weight, large aperture optical systems that are capable of producing high-resolution images of low contrast. Current mirror technologies are limited due either to not being scalable to larger sizes at reasonable masses, or to lack of surface finish, dimensional stability in a space environment or long fabrication times. This paper will discuss the development of thin-shell, nano-laminate mirror substrates that are capable of being electro-actively figured. This technology has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of space based optics by allowing replication of ultra-lightweight primary mirrors from a master precision tool. Precision master tools have been shown to be used multiple times with repeatable surface quality results with less than one week fabrication times for the primary optical mirror substrate. Current development has developed a series of 0.25 and 0.5 meter spherical nanolaminate mirrors that are less than 0.5 kg/m² areal density before electroactive components are mounted, and a target of less than 2.0 kg/m with control elements. This paper will provide an overview of nanolaminate materials for optical mirrors, modeling of their behavior under figure control and experiments conducted to validate precision control.