Agile Textured Precision High Force Actuators for Mirror Shape Control

The directed energy community needs lightweight, low power deformable mirrors that can be quickly adapted to new or changing requirements - agile response. The actuator is the key element to making this happen. Current actuator technology provides thesequalities with a highly labor intensive process that requires specialized manufacture. We propose to create a new paradigm in mirror shape control actuators by combing the performance properties of single crystal ferroelectrics with automated texturedmaterials processing. If developed, textured single crystal cofired actuators will remove weight, power, bandwidth, cost and production limitations inherent with current discrete, ceramic stack and discrete, single crystal bonded stack technology. It isour intent during this program to develop an actuator manufacturing process that combines the high strain performance of single crystal materials with the automated production capabilities of cofired multilayer fabrication. Using this productionmethodology, production quantities of ABL actuators could be made in a few weeks instead of the 6-month long process required now. It is the intent during this program to reduce the mass (deformable mirror and electronics) by an order of magnitude whileincreasing the gain bandwidth response 10X. This will be accomplished through innovative materials and process engineering at the nanoscale level. The maturity of a Nano-Textured Single Crystals (NANO-TSC) will lead to a new line of cofired devices forhigh authority applications. In addition, creating a lower cost single crystal option. The NANO-TSC material exhibits a high fraction of single crystal properties, with high compositional uniformity, enhanced mechanical toughness. The proposedNano-Textured single crystal actuator development for shape control of adaptive optic mirrors in directed energy applications will provide a higher stroke (greater than three times currently achievable) at high spatial frequencies to a host of opticalcommunities who have a direct and current need for such a device. The development of high strain low volume and low mass cofired DM actuators for laser communications systems to realize longer path lengths, beam delivery systems to deliver the requiredpower densities at longer path lengths and the reconnaissance systems to achieve diffraction limited performance from space platforms will be enabled with the NANO-TSC technology. Several possible examples of advanced devices that could be commercializedwith the maturity of this technology are as follows: Tip tilt mirrors, High density deformable mirror, Positioning stages, Unique shaped actuators, High strain/high bandwidth DMs, Cryogenic actuators, Ultrasonic imaging devices, Accelerometers and SonarDevices.