Additive Manufactured Very Light Weight Diamond Turned Aspheric Mirror

The innovation proposed is a method for the fabrication of a very low cost, very light weight large aperture Al10SiMg aluminum alloy mirror by the combination of three manufacturing processes. 1. Additively manufactured mirror substrates as demonstrated in previous Phase 1 NASA SBIR S2.03-9125 with 0.2 mm contour accuracy. 2. Precision robotic welding of hexagonal on-axis and hexagonal off-axis segments to produce a larger mirror. 3. Large capacity diamond turning can produce any desired mirror aspheric contour to visible tolerances on the monolithic large mirror.

Extremely light weight medium aperture off-axis three mirror anastigmat (TMA) mirror optical components, collimator and telescope optical instruments. Extremely lightweight large off-axis mirrors for unobscured optical collimators and telescopes. On-axis hexagonal segments and off-axis hexagonal aspheric optical mirrors can be assembled to enable very large telescopes.

Defense applications requiring mirror optical components for satellites and aerospace vehicles. Non-military applications such as weather satellite optical mirrors and commercial telescope optics. Commercial applications requiring light weight stiff optical components such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — 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.

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