This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9574 including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction, and Conference Committee listing.

Recently there has been resurging interest in beryllium telescopes ranging in aperture from 0.25-1.5 meter for various NASA space missions. The central theme for this discussion is axially symmetric, all beryllium telescope design forms that are part of advanced LIDAR altimetry systems used to measure the topography and relative density of surface and atmospheric features on the earth and on other planetary bodies. Similar NASA LIDAR missions have previously been sent to Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars, and are under consideration for other surveys within the solar system. Design considerations include achieving minimized mass simultaneous with demanding structural, thermal, and optical requirements on orbit after sustaining the rigors of space launch. Modern analysis tools and modeling techniques enable simulation of telescope wavefront errors resulting from environmental effects and the influences of bi-metallic bending from platings. Manufacturing considerations include progressive machining, diamond point turning, coordinate measurement machine profilometry, computerized grinding and polishing, brazing of complex beryllium structures, very thin electroless nickel plating, and other advanced manufacturing technologies imperative to successful visible–infrared optical performance. Recent design and manufacturing efforts on 0.60, 0.80, and 1.0 meter beryllium telescopes are profiled to illustrate the confluence of applicable design and manufacturing technologies.

Near-net-shape powder consolidation technology has been developing over the past 30+ years. One relatively recent example is production of hexagonal shaped beryllium mirror blanks made for the James Webb Space Telescope. More cost saving examples, specifically from the past decade, utilizing growing experience and lesson’s learned whether from a mirror substrate or structure will be discussed to show the latitude of production technology. Powder consolidation techniques include Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) for either round or shaped blanks and Vacuum Hot Pressing (VHP) consolidation for round blanks. The range of sizes will be presented to further illustrate the latitude of current production capability.

High performance stabilized EO/IR surveillance and targeting systems are in demand for a wide variety of military, law enforcement, and commercial assets for land, sea, air, and space. Operating ranges, wavelengths, and angular resolution capabilities define the requirements for EO/IR optics and sensors, and line of sight stabilization. Many materials and design configurations are available for EO/IR pointing gimbals depending on trade-offs of size, weight, power (SWaP), performance, and cost. Space and high performance military aircraft applications are often driven toward expensive but exceptionally performing beryllium and aluminum beryllium components. Commercial applications often rely on aluminum and composite materials. Gimbal design considerations include achieving minimized mass and inertia simultaneous with demanding structural, thermal, optical, and scene stabilization requirements when operating in dynamic operational environments. Manufacturing considerations include precision lapping and honing of ball bearing interfaces, brazing, welding, and casting of complex aluminum and beryllium alloy structures, and molding of composite structures. Several notional and previously developed EO/IR gimbal platforms are profiled that exemplify applicable design and manufacturing technologies.

This paper describes recent aerospace applications where Be-38Al (AlBeMet) has been successfully applied to produce optics and stable support structures. The information presented touches on historical uses of beryllium and beryllium-aluminum in satellite optical systems, and then presents recent uses and developments of Be-38Al and its application to optical substrates and stable support structures.

Additive Manufacturing (aka AM, and 3-D printing) is widely touted in the media as the foundation for the next industrial revolution. Beneath the hype, AM does indeed offer profound advantages in lead-time, dramatically reduced consumption of expensive raw materials, while enabling new and innovative design forms that cannot be produced by other means. General Dynamics and their industry partners have begun to embrace this technology for mirrors and precision structures used in the aerospace, defense, and precision optical instrumentation industries. Aggressively lightweighted, open and closed back test mirror designs, 75-150 mm in size, were first produced by AM from several different materials. Subsequent optical finishing and test experiments have exceeded expectations for density, surface finish, dimensional stability and isotropy of thermal expansion on the optical scale of measurement. Materials currently under examination include aluminum, titanium, beryllium, aluminum beryllium, Inconel 625, stainless steel/bronze, and PEKK polymer.

Diamond machining of metal optics is a flexible way to manufacture structured elements on different surface geometries. Especially curved substrates such as spheres, aspheres, or freeforms in combination with structured elements enable innovative products like headlights of automobiles or spectrometers in life science or space applications. Using diamond turning, servo turning, milling, and shaping, different technologies for arbitrary geometries are available. The addressed wavelengths are typically in the near- infrared (NIR) and infrared (IR) spectral range. Applying additional finishing processes, diamond machining is also used for optics applicable down to the EUV spectral range. This wide range of applications is represented in the used materials, too. However, one important material group for diamond machining is metal substrates. For diamond machining of structured surfaces, it is important to consider the microstructure of the utilized materials thoroughly. Especially amorphous materials as nickel-phosphorus alloys or fine-grained copper allow the fine structuring of refractive and diffractive structures. The paper analyzes the influence variables for diamond machining of structured surfaces and shows the use of this research for applications in the spectral range from IR to EUV.

Fe-36Ni is an alloy of choice for low thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) for optical, instrument and electrical applications in particular where dimensional stability is critical. This paper outlines the development of a particle-reinforced Fe-36Ni alloy that offers reduced density and lower CTE compared to the matrix alloy. A summary of processing capability will be given relating the composition and microstructure to mechanical and physical properties.

In optical systems just like any other space borne system, thermal control plays an important role. In fact, most advanced designs are plagued with volume constraints that further complicate the thermal control challenges for even the most experienced systems engineers. Peregrine will present advances in satellite thermal control based upon passive heat transfer technologies to dissipate large thermal loads. This will address the use of 700 W/m K and higher conducting products that are five times better than aluminum on a specific basis providing enabling thermal control while maintaining structural support.

A low-stress, polishable, silicon (Si) cladding process for lightweight mirrors is presented. The cladding process is based on the thermal evaporation of silicon in the presence of low-energy argon ions. The process utilizes an ion bombardment technique whereby the coating stress of a silicon film is manipulated periodically from compressive to tensile in order to achieve a low net stress for the complete layer. A Si cladding with little intrinsic stress is desirable to minimize bending that would otherwise distort the figure of very lightweight mirrors. The process has yielded silicon claddings up to 100-microns thick, with less than 85 MPa of compressive stress. This polishable Si cladding was specifically designed for silicon carbide mirror substrates, however, it is also suitable for graphite composite, beryllium, and aluminum mirror substrates, which may be difficult or impossible to polish to sufficient mirror quality without a specialized coating.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is the best material for various spaceborne telescope mirrors and structural pieces since it is high stiffness, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity and fine surface optical quality. This paper describes the optimum all-SiC telescope trade for a SiC primary mirror with a predesigned lightweight configuration on the back and a metering structure. A trade study involves the utilization of finite element structural analysis in evaluating thermal as well as static and dynamic loadings. The paper presented herein describes the trade studies involved in the optimum design of lightweighting cell patterns, selection of mounting method, facesheet/rib thickness and mass for a primary mirror as well as selection of supporting method, for a metering structure with respect to static deflections, dynamic characteristics and thermal aspects.

Using an Additive Manufacturing process, Trex Enterprises and teammates were successful in producing a 12-inch by 12-inch by 0.5-inch vented, lightweight, Honeycomb C/SiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) panel which had a density relative to bulk silicon carbide of 11% (89% lightweighting). The so-called T300HoneySiC™ panel and facesheet stock material were fabricated into ASTM standard coupons and tested at Southern Research Institute to obtain basic materials properties data. The material properties data showed that we had made a near-zero coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE= -0.22 ppm/°C from -196°C to +24°C) CMC C/SiC material with good strength. This material will be ideal for space opto-mechanical structures and optical benches due to its near-zero CTE and light weight. The material is initially molded and then converted to a C/SiC ceramic matrix composite, thus the fabrication time can be less than 3 weeks from start to finish, resulting in low cost.

This paper will present the recent development achievements of a German SME supply chain to manufacture super light-weighted HB-Cesic® mirrors for IR to visible applications. We will present recent design developments for achieving extreme light-weighted mirror substrates with extremely high stiffness and performance and in the second part the newly established German supply chain for the manufacturing of such extreme light-weighted mirror substrates.

During the past years, ECM together with its industrial partners designed, manufactured and tested several complex light weighted structures of its proprietary ceramic material “HB-Cesic." The opto-mechanical structures have fulfilled extreme stability requirements under typical non stabilized space environment. In this paper we report from a recent example of such extremely thermal stable structure as well as about some heritage structures for similar applications.

Sapphire crystal boules, approximately 34 cm in diameter and 22 cm tall, grown by the Heat Exchanger Method (HEM) are currently being sliced, ground and polished for use as window substrates in a variety of aerospace applications. As the need for larger volumes of higher quality material increases, it is necessary to evaluate and understand the homogeneity of optical and material properties within sapphire boules to ensure the needs of the industry can be met. The optical homogeneity throughout the full useable thickness of a representative sapphire boule was evaluated by measuring the transmitted wavefront error of multiple thin slices. This approach allowed the creation of a full-volume three-dimensional homogeneity map. Additionally, the uniformity of other critical characteristics of the material was evaluated at multiple locations within a boule. Specific properties investigated were equibiaxial flexural strength, index of refraction, Knoop hardness, coefficient of thermal expansion and modulus of elasticity. The results of those evaluations will be reported.

Zerodur® is a well-known glass-ceramic used for optical components because of its unequalled dimensional stability under thermal environment. In particular it has been used since decades in Thales Alenia Space’s optical payloads for space telescopes, especially for mirrors. The drawback of Zerodur® is however its quite low strength, but the relatively small size of mirrors in the past had made it unnecessary to further investigate this aspect, although elementary tests have always shown higher failure strength. As performance of space telescopes is increasing, the size of mirrors increases accordingly, and an optimization of the design is necessary, mainly for mass saving. Therefore the question of the effective strength of Zerodur® has become a real issue.

Thales Alenia Space has investigated the application of the Weibull law and associated size effects on Zerodur® in 2014, under CNES funding, through a thorough test campaign with a high number of samples (300) of various types. The purpose was to accurately determine the parameters of the Weibull law for Zerodur® when machined in the same conditions as mirrors.

The proposed paper will discuss the obtained results, in the light of the Weibull theory. The applicability of the 2-parameter and 3-parameter (with threshold strength) laws will be compared. The expected size effect has not been evidenced therefore some investigations are led to determine the reasons of this result, from the test implementation quality to the data post-processing methodology. However this test campaign has already provided enough data to safely increase the allowable value for mirrors sizing.

For spectroscopy in space, GRISM elements –obtained by patterning gratings on a prism surface – are gaining increasing interest. Originally developed as dispersive elements for insertion into an imaging light path without deflecting the beam, they are progressively found in sophisticated multi stage dispersion optics. We report on GRISM manufacturing by joining the individual functional elements –prisms and gratings – to suitable components. Fused silica was used as glass material and the gratings were realized by e-beam lithography und dry etching. Alignment of the grating dispersion direction to the prism angle was realized by passive adjustment. Materials adapted bonds of high transmission, stiffness and strength were obtained at temperatures of about 200°C in vacuum by hydrophilic direct bonding. Examples for bonding uncoated as well as coated fused silica surfaces are given. The results illustrate the great potential of hydrophilic glass direct bonding for manufacturing transmission optics to be used under highly demanding environmental conditions, as typical in space.

We report an easy way to tune the optical refractive index and viscosity of an epoxy acrylate-based host-guest system which can be used for the fabrication of optical waveguides. This allows fast and precise modification of the material system for different replication methods like hot embossing, inkjet printing or spin coating. To modify the refractive index n, an electron-rich organic dopant such as phenanthrene is added to a commercially available reactive polymer based resin. Moreover, changes in viscosity can be achieved by using a comonomer with suitable properties like benzyl methacrylate (BMA). We used a commercially available UV-curable epoxy acrylate based polymer matrix to investigate both the influence of phenanthrene and of benzyl methacrylate. First, mixtures of the pure polymer and benzyl methacrylate with a ratio of 30, 50, and 80 wt% benzyl methacrylate were produced. Second, phenanthrene was added with 5 and 10 wt%, respectively. All components were mixed and then polymerized by UV-irradiation and with a thermal postcure. The viscosity of the mixtures decreased at 20°C linearly from 1.5 Pa·s (30 wt%) to 8 mPa·s (80 wt%), whereas the refractive index decreased at the same time by a small amount from 1.570 to 1.568 (@589 nm, 20 °C). By adding phenanthrene refractive index increased to a maximum of n = 1.586 (50 wt% BMA, 10 wt% phenanthrene). Abbe numbers for the compositions without phenanthrene ranged from 35 to 38.

A novel laser-based soldering technique – Solderjet Bumping – using liquid solder droplets in a flux-free process with only localized heating is presented. We demonstrate an all inorganic, adhesive free bonding of optical components and support structures suitable for optical assemblies and instruments under harsh environmental conditions. Low strain bonding suitable for a following high-precision adjustment turning process is presented, addressing components and subsystems for objectives for high power and short wavelengths. The discussed case study shows large aperture transmissive optics (diameter approx. 74 mm and 50 mm) made of fused silica and LAK9G15, a radiation resistant glass, bonded to thermally matched metallic mounts. The process chain of Solderjet Bumping – cleaning, solderable metallization, handling, bonding and inspection – is discussed. This multi-material approach requires numerical modelling for dimensioning according to thermal and mechanical loads. The findings of numerical modelling, process parametrization and environmental testing (thermal and vibrational loads) are presented. Stress and strain introduced into optical components as well as deformation of optical surfaces can significantly deteriorate the wave front of passing light and therefore reduce system performance significantly. The optical performance with respect to stress/strain and surface deformation during bonding and environmental testing were evaluated using noncontact and nondestructive optical techniques: polarimetry and interferometry, respectively. Stress induced surface deformation of less than 100 nm and changes in optical path difference below 5 nm were achieved. Bond strengths of about 55 MPa are reported using tin-silver-copper soft solder alloy.

The accurate characterization of material properties as thermal expansion, temporal length drift and relaxation is essential for semiconductor industry or for aerospace applications. PTB’s absolute length measuring Ultra Precision Interferometer enables investigation of these properties with high accuracy in the temperature range from 7 K to about 300 K. The Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) can be measured with uncertainties mainly below 3 × 10^-9/K. In this paper we give an overview about the latest state of our experimental setup and evaluation methods. Recent measurement results on silicon carbide ceramics (SiC-100, HB-Cesic), silicon nitride ceramics (SN-PG and SN-Pu) and single crystal silicon (SCS), the latter being the reference material of choice in this regime, are presented.

In the recent years, the ever tighter tolerance for the Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of IC Lithography component materials is requesting significant progress in the metrology accuracy to determine this property as requested. ZERODUR® is known for its extremely low CTE between 0°C to 50°C. The current measurement of the thermal expansion coefficient is done using push rod dilatometer measurement systems developed at SCHOTT. In recent years measurements have been published showing the excellent CTE homogeneity of ZERODUR® in the one-digit ppb/K range using these systems. The verifiable homogeneity was limited by the CTE(0°C, 50°C) measurement repeatability in the range of ± 1.2 ppb/K of the current improved push rod dilatometer setup using an optical interferometer as detector instead of an inductive coil. With ZERODUR® TAILORED, SCHOTT introduced a low thermal expansion material grade that can be adapted to individual customer application temperature profiles. The basis for this product is a model that has been developed in 2010 for better understanding of the thermal expansion behavior under given temperature versus time conditions. The CTE behavior predicted by the model has proven to be in very good alignment with the data determined in the thermal expansions measurements. The measurements to determine the data feeding the model require a dilatometer setup with excellent stability and accuracy for long measurement times of several days. In the past few years SCHOTT spent a lot of effort to drive a dilatometer measurement technology based on the push rod setup to its limit, to fulfill the continuously demand for higher CTE accuracy and deeper material knowledge of ZERODUR®. This paper reports on the status of the dilatometer technology development at SCHOTT.

IPMC (Ionic Polymer Metallic Composite) is a kind of electroactive polymer (EAP) which is used as an actuator because of its low driving voltage and small size. The mechanism of IPMC actuator is due to the ionic diffusion when the voltage gradient is applied. In this paper, the complex IPMC fabrication such as Ag-IPMC be further developed in this paper. The comparison of response time and tip bending displacement of Pt-IPMC and Ag-IPMC will also be presented. We also use the optimized IPMC as the lens actuator integrated with curvilinear microlens array, and use the 3D printer to make a simple module and spring stable system. We also used modeling software, ANSYS Workbench, to confirm the effect of spring system. Finally, we successfully drive the lens system in 200μm stroke under 2.5V driving voltage within 1 seconds, and the resonant frequency is approximately 500 Hz.