Segmented Deformable Mirror for Tactical HEL

This SBIR Phase I project proposes to investigate a segmented deformable mirror (SDM) to minimize the thermal distortion in high energy laser (HEL) beam correction. The main innovation is to use a 1 cm thick segmented silicon facesheet elastically bonded into a monolithic substrate. The elastomeric bonding is only 25 microns thick and allows the facesheet to be figured and coated like solid glass while still being pliable enough for piezo-actuator control. The result is a fully capable DM where each individual actuator is too thick to produce any thermal ripple. Furthermore, silicon’s high thermal conductivity coupled with a cooling collar limits temperature rise to 1 degree K/Megawatt. Phase I will build a 16 actuator DM tested under simulated HEL loading. It also includes the detailed design and test plan of the Phase II segmented deformable mirror prototype. This will prepare us to fabricate a 200 actuator DM in Phase II.