Polymer material and casting process development for reduced manufacturing cost of spaceborne optics

Brian G. Patrick; James D Moore; Dan K Marker; James R Rotge

doi:10.1117/12.503852

12 December 2003 Polymer material and casting process development for reduced manufacturing cost of spaceborne optics

Brian G. Patrick, James D Moore, Dan K Marker, James R Rotge

Proceedings Volume 5179, Optical Materials and Structures Technologies; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.503852
Event: Optical Science and Technology, SPIE's 48th Annual Meeting, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

There is a significant amount of research devoted to developing materials and processes for spaceborne mirrors. Carbon fiber mirrors and advanced ceramic mirrors such as SiC are being developed. These materials provide excellent stiffness to weight ratios and thermal stability. The principal problem with using these lightweight materials for mirrors is the difficulty of polishing the surface to achieve the required optical quality finish. Carbon fiber mirrors also suffer from fiber print through and ceramic mirrors are difficult and costly to polish due to the material hardness and porosity. SRS has been developing processes for depositing a very thin, optical-quality membrane layer of space-qualified polymer onto the surface of a mirror still in a rough-polished state to eliminate the need for expensive and time consuming final surface finishing of lightweight mirrors. By flow casting a polymer onto the surface, remaining peaks and valleys are filled in resulting in an extremely smooth surface. Initial research has shown that the membrane mirror surface can have a significantly better surface finish than the casting substrate, thus eliminating the need for costly final polishing.

Citation Download Citation

Brian G. Patrick, James D Moore, Dan K Marker, and James R Rotge "Polymer material and casting process development for reduced manufacturing cost of spaceborne optics", Proc. SPIE 5179, Optical Materials and Structures Technologies, (12 December 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.503852

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available