Abstract
We tested the optical performance at cryogenic temperatures of an diameter lightweight mirror, consisting of carbon-fiber reinforced silicon carbide and with a mass of . The ceramic composite of the mirror was HB-Cesic, developed by ECM, Germany, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan. The test was carried out while the mirror was mounted, via Invar stress relief supports, on a lightweight optical bench also made of HB-Cesic. During the test, both the mirror and the optical bench were cooled to in a liquid-helium chamber. The test consisted of measuring the mirror's change of surface figure with an interferometer installed outside the cryo-chamber. The cryogenic deformation of the mirror was RMS with no significant residual deformation after cooling, which is very promising for the applicability of the HB-Cesic composite to large lightweight cryogenic space optics.
© 2010 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Hidehiro Kaneda, Takao Nakagawa, Takashi Onaka, Keigo Enya, Sin'itirou Makiuti, Junji Takaki, Masaki Haruna, Masami Kume, and Tsuyoshi Ozaki
Appl. Opt. 47(8) 1122-1128 (2008)
Keigo Enya, Takao Nakagawa, Hidehiro Kaneda, Takashi Onaka, Tuyoshi Ozaki, and Masami Kume
Appl. Opt. 46(11) 2049-2056 (2007)
Hidehiro Kaneda, Takashi Onaka, Takao Nakagawa, Keigo Enya, Hiroshi Murakami, Ryoji Yamashiro, Tatsuhiko Ezaki, Yasuyuki Numao, and Yoshikazu Sugiyama
Appl. Opt. 44(32) 6823-6832 (2005)