Pyramid Nanostructured Coatings for Stray Light Suppression

Vertical arrays of carbon nanotubes have been shown to yield values as low as 0.1 % of total hemispherical reflectance, while this improvement would afford significant gains for in-space telescopic imagery, the complexities and cost with fabrication pose significant barriers to capturing this level of stray light suppression. The current work is directed to capturing the same or comparable levels of reflectance, with SCCNT coating which can be applied at room temperature using conventional spray-up method onto flat and curved objects. Applied Sciences SCCNT coatings demonstrated a total hemispherical reflectance of 1%, 5x better than the legacy material – Z306, in Phase I. The proposed innovation seeks the development of practical and affordable SCCNT coatings into an aerospace qualified polymer for stray light suppression. In Phase II, the cost and simplicity of this approach will be exploited to optimize reflectance over the desired spectral range. The SCCNT can be tuned for absorption/scattering over a broad spectral region by altering the geometry and functionality, allowing degrees of freedom in optimizing absorption. Additionally, a novel method of graphene growth on SCCNF offers further enhancement of absorption of stray light, at low cost and ease of application. This new approach comes at a much lower cost, is readily scalable and safer than the competing technology.

The proposed technology is aimed for stray light suppression in spaceflight instruments. The proposed technology could find application on the following missions/telescopes: LUVOIR LISA. On components such as masks, baffles, entrance aperture and stops.

The proposed innovation comes at a much lower cost than the current state of the art, and is readily scalable. Commercial applications include optical apertures, binoculars, night vison goggles, analytical instrumentation and other devices that benefit from stray light suppression.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.