{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":9058,"title":"Compact Low-Power Driver for Deformable Mirror Systems","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10748,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10747,"level":3,"code":"TX08.2.1","title":"Mirror Systems","definition":"Mirror systems development aims to provide increased sensitivity and resolution, such as improved resolution of X-ray grazing incidence optics and reduced areal costs for aperture systems > 10 m in diameter.","exampleTechnologies":"Ground metrology and systems; integrated electronic, integrated photonic, sensor readouts that enable significant data compression; low-noise, low-power, high-performance analog and mixed signal electronic components, and electronics packaging technology capable of operating in and surviving extreme temperatures. Sensor electronics designs to accommodate reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP), including wireless networking techniques. Analog and Mixed-Signal Instrument front end electronics ASICs, FPGAs and discrete components, space cube, onboard SAR processor, MUSTANG, supporting nanoelectronic elements, and supporting high-voltage power supplies.","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"There are several commercial and government applications that can take advantage of ultra-low power drivers for high-resolution MEMS DMs. The primary application is space-based adaptive optics, where ultra-low power and compact size make the proposed driver indispensible. A universal benefit is reduced connections, which leads to more compact and less costly electronics. In addition, the following are specific targeted applications and how they are best suited for this development. Other targeted applications include: Astronomy/surveillance: BMC has had success developing electronics for arrays up to 4096 elements for the Gemini Planet Imager. In that and other astronomical applications, especially multi-object-adaptive optics, the availability of compact drivers will simplify wavefront control system integration substantially. Optical communication: In long-range secure communication, BMC MEMS DMs have found substantial commercial demand that has resulted in numerous system sales. Through the use of multiplexing, the electrical connections can be reduced, making the systems more compact and less costly. Biological imaging /vision science: For the imaging field, a large impediment to adding adaptive optics to optical instruments is the cost of the mirror technology and associated electronics. By reducing the cost of the electronics, cost-effective adaptive optics-enabled solutions will become more attractive to customers.
MEMS DMs can be used for correction of quasi-static aberrations in primary optics due to manufacturing and thermal variations in space based telescopes. This could be used in a number of NASAs coronagraph missions (e.g. TPC-C) or any of space telescope. With the utilization of the proposed compact, low-power multiplexed drive electronics, the power consumption and mass of the adaptive optics system could be greatly reduce.","description":"Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC), a leading developer of unique, high-resolution micromachined deformable mirrors (DMs), will develop a compact, low-power, high-voltage multiplexed driver suitable for integration with those DMs in space-based wavefront control applications. The proposed driver architecture will drastically reduce power consumption and size. Based on parameters measured using an existing 993-actuator DM that BMC developed for NASA in support of the Terrestrial Planet Finding Coronagraph program, and using projections from preliminary experiments conducted for this proposal, we predict at minimum a hundred-fold reduction in power consumption in the prototype driver to be produced in Phase I, and a tenfold reduction in size, while maintaining high precision, reducing electronics driver cost, and reducing interconnection complexity. Additional reductions in power consumption and another tenfold reduction in size will follow in Phase II work when the core design is transferred to implementation in application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) format. Phase I work involves collaboration between BMC and Boston University (BU). A leading electrostatics research group at BU will develop a novel multiplexed high-voltage driver architecture that comprises a significant departure from previous MEMS DM drivers. A single D/A converter and high-voltage amplifier module will drive the entire array through a row-column addressing scheme. This approach will reduce operational power consumption by two orders of magnitude from ~80W to ~0.8W. We will also integrate the DM and the mirror into a compact package. The MEMS DM and the electronics will be co-mounted on the same PC board. This will reduce driver volume by an order of magnitude, from ~20,000cc to 2000cc. It will also eliminate the need for high density cabling and buffer amplifiers used to drive them, simplifying system operation and further reducing power consumption and size.","startYear":2010,"startMonth":1,"endYear":2010,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":447414,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Steven","lastName":"Cornelissen","fullName":"Steven A Cornelissen","fullNameInverted":"Cornelissen, Steven A","middleInitial":"A","primaryEmail":"sac@bostonmicromachines.com","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":215154,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jennifer","lastName":"Gustetic","fullName":"Jennifer L Gustetic","fullNameInverted":"Gustetic, Jennifer L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jennifer.l.gustetic@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","primaryEmail":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":3164028,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Celestino Jun","lastName":"Rosca","fullName":"Celestino Jun Rosca","fullNameInverted":"Rosca, Celestino Jun","primaryEmail":"crosca@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false},{"contactId":461333,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Theresa","lastName":"Stanley","fullName":"Theresa M Stanley","fullNameInverted":"Stanley, Theresa M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":68120,"projectId":9058,"transitionDate":"2010-07-01","path":"Closed Out","details":"Compact Low-Power Driver for Deformable Mirror Systems, Phase I Project Image","closeoutDocuments":[{"title":"Final Summary Chart Image","file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":307342,"fileName":"SBIR_09_1_S2.02-9229","fileSize":202837,"objectId":68120,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":1841,"code":"TRANSITION_FILES","description":"Transition Files","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"fileSizeString":"198.1 KB"},"transitionId":68120,"fileId":307342}],"infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"","dateText":"July 2010"},{"transitionId":68121,"projectId":9058,"partner":"Other","transitionDate":"2011-06-01","path":"Advanced To","relatedProjectId":8819,"relatedProject":{"acronym":"","projectId":8819,"title":"Compact Low-Power Driver for Deformable Mirror Systems","startTrl":1,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"Small stroke, high precision deformable mirrors and associated drive electronics have a few commercial applications. The decrease in size, power and cost affect many of the vertical markets to which we currently supply our products. Space surveillance:BMC has success developing arrays up to 4096 elements for astronomy which can be used for space-based systems. Decreasing the size and weight of the electronics reduces payload, a high priority of satellite programs. These programs are funded by Department of Defense administrations with classified agendas. Unmanned Aerial Systems:In unmanned aerial systems, adaptive optics can enable improved battlefield performance. Images can be obtained that are more informative for reconnaissance purposes. By implementing multiplexed drive electronics, this can be implemented on smaller vehicles. Microscopy:Adaptive optics can increase resolution in confocal and optical microscopes. Specific modalities include two-photon excitation fluorescence(2PEF), coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy(CARS), scanning laser ophthalmoscopy(SLO) and optical coherence tomography(OCT). Multiplexed drive electronics can reduce the component cost of the system and enable more users to purchase high-resolution equipment for cutting-edge science. Optical communication: Fiber optic communications systems are the primary beneficiaries of this new electronics architecture which can take advantage of our devices in an optical switching enhancement capacity.
Multiplexed drive electronics introduce a few very important and enabling advantages for NASA commercial applications in planned space-based telescopes and coronagraphs. The key commercial advantages to the systems to be produced in this work are: 1) their hundredfold improvement in power efficiency is a critical enabler for space-based operation; 2) their design is specifically suited to drive tip-tilt-piston MEMS DMs already developed by BMC for NASA, and is to our knowledge uniquely capable of achieving the 10pm precision required for the visible nulling coronagraph; and 3) the cost to produce the drivers proposed will be less than that of existing drivers for MEMS DMs in use by NASA, despite its substantial improvements over the state-of-the-art in compactness, power management, and precision. These compelling features, along with highly successful Phase I results, promise to make the proposed hardware commercially attractive to NASA for various space-based applications. BMC's track record of success with DM sales to NASA and to dozens of astronomical and space science institutions around the world bodes well for the ultimate commercial viability of the Phase II research outcomes.","description":"This proposal describes a new concept to drive MEMS DMs using low-power, high-voltage multiplexing. Compared to other reported approaches, the proposed architecture will reduce power consumption by a factor of one hundred, to a level of a few hundred milliwatts. This estimate is supported by direct measurements obtained from prototype modules that were demonstrated in Phase I research. In the Phase II project we will scale up this innovative circuit DMs that Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC) developed for NASA in support of the Terrestrial Planet Finding program. At the same time, we will reduce the driver's size in two successive stages of integration. In the first stage, we will implement a hybrid packaging approach in which a 993-actuator DM, HV amplifier, multiplexer components, and power supplies will all be co-located on a common multi-layered circuit board. With this driver we will demonstrate both low power consumption (~300mW) and high precision (~10pm). In the second stage of integration, we will design, fabricate, and test a High Voltage Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (HV-ASIC) version of the multiplexing architecture using a commercial foundry. We will combine a number of these 256 channel HV-ASIC modules into a driver for a 3063 actuator DM that is currently being developed by BMC to support NASA's coronography goals.","startYear":2011,"startMonth":6,"endYear":2013,"endMonth":11,"statusDescription":"Completed","website":"","program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdId":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer"},"lastUpdated":"2024-1-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":404,"endDateString":"Nov 2013","startDateString":"Jun 2011"},"infoText":"Advanced within the program","infoTextExtra":"Another project within the program (Compact Low-Power Driver for Deformable Mirror Systems)","dateText":"June 2011"}],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdId":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer"},"leadOrganization":{"canUserEdit":false,"city":"Cambridge","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":true,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":2784,"organizationName":"Boston Micromachines Corporation","organizationType":"Industry","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"MA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Massachusetts","stateTerritoryId":30},"stateTerritoryId":30,"ein":"330913574 ","dunsNumber":"085252729","uei":"SM8TM1GMFMY9","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"Industry"},"supportingOrganizations":[{"acronym":"JPL","canUserEdit":false,"city":"Pasadena","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":true,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4946,"organizationName":"Jet Propulsion Laboratory","organizationType":"FFRDC_2fUARC","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59},"stateTerritoryId":59,"naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"FFRDC/UARC"}],"statesWithWork":[{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59},{"abbreviation":"MA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Massachusetts","stateTerritoryId":30}],"lastUpdated":"2024-1-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":379,"endDateString":"Jul 2010","startDateString":"Jan 2010"}}