Retardation Mapping System for Astronomical Mirrors

To meet the optical resolution requirements of the mirrors to be used in the Habitable Worlds Observatory (WHO), the birefringence of the mirrors must have a polarization birefringence uniformity on the order of 1% over their full aperture. The proposed work will develop a technology for measuring the birefringence across the 250 nm to 1000 nm wavelength range on non-planar mirrors. This will be achieve though a series of customization and upgrades to Axometrics' existing AxoScan™ product line. The function will primarily cover the required R&D labor for designing new optical retarders and detectors, extending the wavelength range of our light source, integrating the system, and performing measurements. The primary Phase I effort deliverable will be a series of test measurements performed on mirror samples provided by NASA.

The proposed R&D is intended to directly support the NASA mission of detecting and characterizing exo-Earth planets around Sun-like stars by providing advanced metrology of the optical mirrors to be used on the Habitable World Observatory. The proposed work would also be applicable to all future optical telescopes that NASA may develop. The same technology will be useful to any organization manufacturing astronomical telescopes. Additionally, the developed technology could be applied to testing the polarization-based reflective coatings applied to catadioptric lenses (pancake lenses) used in next-generation VR headsets. Axometrics already has an established customer base in the VR headset space, so we expect that this may be a significant opportunity.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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.