Surface Finish Improvement in MEMS Deformable Mirrors for High Contrast Imaging

This proposal aims to make fundamental progress in one of NASArsquo;s core objectives: to explore Earth-like exo-planets using space-based Coronagraphs. One NASA-identified technology gap is the need for compact, ultraprecise, multi-thousand actuator deformable mirrors (DMs). Boston Micromachines Corporation is a leading producer of such DMs, which have been used in space-based applications and NASA Coronagraph test beds. However, their surface quality is currently limited to by topographic print-through on and stresses in the mirror surface. BMC proposes to develop a modified manufacturing process to improve the surface quality building on recent advancement in other programs. The new process will lead to production of DMs with surface figure errors measuring 1nm-rms. Such DMs are needed for all space-based coronagraphs that have been proposed for future NASA missions such as the Habitable World Observatory.