High Gain Bandwidth Relay Mirror

"Current plans for high-power defense systems such as ABL and SBL, require adaptive mirrors that can handle high-power requirements, correct wavefront errors, and perform precise pointing and tracking. Normally separate devices that increase the complexityof the beam train handle these functions. Two problems must be addressed. First, high-power laser systems degrade the optical quality of their beam trains through heating of the optics, vibration, and relatively poor beam quality from the laser itself.Xinetics proposes a lightweight silicon carbide meniscus mirror that can perform low-order correction and low-amplitude precision pointing. The meniscus can perform low-order correction that depends on the number of cells. Tilt can be compensated usingthe individual cells and also by using actuators to bend a retaining ring. Such a device would have application within a space based laser system as a pointing device and within the turret of an airborne laser system as a corrector/pointer. The actuatorsused would be specially made to operate with full stroke at high frequencies thereby extending the usable range of the correction. The only limitation would be with the electronics used to driver the mirror. This correction device can have wide ranging applications in a variety of government and commercial programs. On the government side, the airborne laser and space based laser program must have precise, lightweight optics that ca