The primary focus for this research is a space-based coating process for future space telescopes, however, additional commercialization potential lies in coating mirrors on the ground with a battery powered process, for use in space, or, for use on the ground. Creating a EUV-quality aluminum coating with minimal impact on WFE, over a large area, is not a trivial task (and currently the state-of-the-art is far short of requirements). ZeCoat will commercialize the new technology by offering coating services, through licensing agreements, and by selling or leasing the individual BPD sources. We will advance this coating technology for broadband, UVOIR telescopes to TRL-6 by 2019 (end of Phase II) and we expect sales to begin at the end of Phase II. It is likely that future large monolithic mirrors will require new coatings facilities to coat them. Even if the final bare aluminum coating is applied in space, either an iridium coating, a multi-layer EUV coating, or a fluoride-protected aluminum coating, will be applied prior to launch. A battery-powered coating technology offers the possibility of building a coating facility on earth to make UV-quality aluminum coatings over-coated with the traditional metal-fluorides. ZeCoat is prepared to install larger coating facilities to meet the government's needs, when these technologies are mature. The marketability of the new coating technology depends primarily on the optical performance of the coating.
ZeCoat will commercialize the battery-powered coating technology developed in this research for other ground-based applications such as large mirrors for ground-based astronomy. Large mirrors for aircraft simulators are also a candidate commercial application for the new technology. We will also market the technology to prime contractors such as Northrup Grumman for applications such as coating repair in space.
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