Silicon Carbide Lightweight Optics With Hybrid Skins for Large Cryo Telescopes

Optical Physics Company (OPC) has developed new silicon carbide (SiC) foam-based optics with hybrid skins that are composite, athermal and lightweight (FOCAL) that provide an enabling capability for performing NASA space missions that will require 2 to 3 meter class cryogenic mirrors for infrared telescopes. The key development in the Phase I program was the replacement of OPC monolithic SiC skins with SiC fiber reinforced/SiC CVD hybrid skins on 1.5" coupons, 4" flat and then 12" powered optics. This innovation avoids scale-up problems that include the inherent stress in the monolithic skins which can result in skin cracking during the substrate manufacturing and finishing processes, the non-uniformity of the .040"-.050" thick monolithic skins that typically require .010"-.015" of material removal before a continuous surface can be achieved for optical finishing, the long schedule of manufacturing the mirror substrate, and the large $2M/m2 cost to produce the polished mirror. The hybrid skin technology provides increased skin strength and toughness to enable the foam based technology to produce meter class mirrors without skin cracking. The manufacturing time and CVD chamber cost are reduced because premanufactured SiC fibers are used to provide the bulk of the skin mass rather than laying down a monolithic skin atom by atom via CVD. The net effect is to produce a SiC FOCAL mirror substrate that is stronger, tougher, scalable to meter class, and potentially better than 50% faster and cheaper to manufacture. OPC proposes to demonstrate that the hybrid skin technology developed in Phase I can be successfully applied to manufacture a 22" diameter F/2 spherical SiC FOCAL hybrid skin substrate and then polish it into a precision mirror on a Phase II program.

DoD has similar mirror requirements for infrared/visible imaging, surveillance and reconnaissance missions thus NASA and DoD collaboration to mature SiC FOCAL mirror technology is desirable. Monolithic skin SiC-SLMSTM mirror technology has high visibility both within the Government outside of NASA, in particular Missile Defense Agency, Air Force Research Laboratory DE/VS/ML/SN, National Reconnaissance Office, Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Joint Program Office) and in the commercial industry (Ball Aerospace - off-axis telescopes, Raytheon - scan mirrors, ITT - scan mirrors, Boeing SVS -mirrors for Relay Mirror systems and Advanced Tactical Laser, Boeing Phantom Works - antennas for LEO IS&R missions, Brashear LP - telescope optics, Lockheed Martin - fast steering and beam control optics, and Northrop Grumman - transformational communications), and many active business development efforts are on-going with all of these organizations. Given the anticipated cost and performance breakthrough of the SiC FOCAL mirror technology, it is expected that all these organizations will have continued interest.

Monolithic skin SiC-SLMSTM mirror technology has high visibility within NASA (in particular NASA GSFC and NASA MSFC). SiC FOCAL mirror technology addresses several of the critical needs identified in the "Advanced Telescopes & Observatories Capability Roadmap" composed by Lee Feinberg (NASA GSFC) and Howard MacEwen (SRS/NRO) for the Advanced Planning and Integration Office (APIO). These needs are in addition to those for UV and EUV instruments. The missions of interest are (for cryogenic) SAFIR, SPIRIT, SPECS, TPF interferometer and (for ambient) DMP, SCOPE, MTRAP, SUVO, NHST and TPF coronagraph. It is feasible that all missions could be satisfied by a mirror technology using 2-meter scale segments. With appropriate funding, SiC FOCAL mirrors could be this technology.

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