Technology Development for High-Actuator-Count MEMS DM Systems

Small-stroke, high precision deformable mirrors and associated driving electronics scalable to 10,000 or more actuators have a few astronomical NASA commercial applications. The following applications apply to all Boston Micromachines mirrors that benefit from new manufacturing processes developed which increase yield and reliability. Astronomy: Post applications in this sub-category can be broken into two categories: space telescopes and ground-based telescopes. In the case of space telescopes, there are a number of mission/mission concepts that require the wavefront control provided by the proposed high actuator count deformable mirrors. These include the Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVIOR), Alpha Centauri Exoplanet Satellite (ACESat), Exoplanetary Circumstellar Environments and Disk Explorer (EXCEDE) and the Centaur pathfinder mission. For ground-based telescopes, BMC has already had success developing arrays up to 4096 elements for the Gemini Planet Imager and multiple high-yield smaller devices to high contrast imaging testbeds at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the University of Nice. BMC can achieve similar results for larger arrays requiring high-density electronic equipment for other new and existing installations such as the planned Extremely Large Telescopes (Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)).

Small-stroke, high precision deformable mirrors (DMs) and associated driving electronics scalable to 10,000 or more actuators have a few commercial applications. The following applications apply to products produced by Boston Micromachines that benefit from manufacturing processes developed which increase yield and reliability. Space surveillance: BMC has success developing arrays up to 4096 elements for astronomy which can be used for space-based systems. These programs are funded by Department of Defense administrations with classified agendas. Optical communication: Lasercomm systems would benefit from this new architecture for long-range secure communication. Also, fiber optic communications can take advantage of our devices in an optical switching capacity. Microscopy: By increasing reliability and yield, the component cost for DMs will enable users to purchase high-resolution equipment for improvement of various microscopy modalities. Modalities affected include multi-photon excitation fluorescence (MPEF), second- and/or third-harmonic generation (SHG/THG), and coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and super-resolution localization microscopy techniques. Pulse-Shaping: Laser science strives to create a better shaped pulse for applications such as laser marking and machining, and material ablation and characterization. The use of a high-actuator count array for these purposes will enable new science and more refined techniques. More »