Large Optical Telescope Based on High Efficiency Thin Film Planar Diffractive Optics

In future ground-based receivers for deep-space optical communications with spacecraft, aperture diameters of the order of 10 meters are required even with the most sensitive available detectors. Directly applying the technology of 10 meter class ground-based telescopes is cost prohibitive. Also, conventional astronomical telescopes are not compatible with operation within 5 degees of the sun, but such near-sun operation is required with the Ground-based Telescope Assembly to provide consistent and reliable wideband communications with interplanetary spacecraft. BEAM Co. proposes to develop a telescope based on diffractive optics that is expected to be far less expensive to manufacture than a telescope based on conventional reflective optics. Our approach takes advantage of the well-defined wavelength of the optical communications beam, thus allowing a high-efficiency design that is expected to be much lighter than a conventional design, thereby reducing the cost of the system that will be used to point the telescope. At the end of Phase I, we will have fabricated and tested subscale diffractive optical elements and performed tests to validate the technology's scalability to large apertures and its capability to support the <20 microradian object space spot size requirement as well as the requirement for near-sun operation.

The expected NASA application is as a major part of the Ground-based Telescope Assembly. Parts of this Assembly not addressed in our program are the pointing system and the optical receiver. However, although our program does not directly address the pointing system, we expect that the cost of the pointing system will be reduced by application of the technology to be developed under our program because the telescope weight carried by the pointing system will be reduced. The main expected advantages of using the technology developed in our program, compared to other possible approaches, is much lower weight and cost of the telescope subassembly. It is possible that this technology would also apply to the flight receivers for optical communications on future NASA spacecraft.

The technology applies to non-NASA commercial laser communications, as well as other laser systems such as laser beam expanders, fiber collimators, and laser receivers. Likely specific applications are to laser rangefinders, target markers, and target designators for the Department of Defense.

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.

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