Description: This proposal aims to make fundamental progress in one of NASA’s core objectives: to explore Earth-like exo-planets using space-based Coronagraphs that null starlight speckles using deformable mirrors (DMs), enabling planet detection. One NASA-identified technology gap is the need for compact, ultraprecise, multi-thousand actuator DMs with surface topography errors of less than 1nm RMS. 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 ~5nm-rms by topographic print-through on the mirror surface. BMC proposes a modified manufacturing process developed in Phase I research to eliminate print-through. The new process will lead to production of DMs with surface figure errors measuring 1nm-rms that will fill this technology gap for space-based coronagraphs as proposed for future NASA missions, namely the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Benefits: Deformable mirrors with reduced high spatial frequency topography have a few astronomical NASA commercial applications. There are a number of mission concepts and testbeds that require the wavefront control provided by the proposed high actuator count deformable mirrors. These include the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission concept and the High Contrast Imaging Testbed 2 (HCIT2), currently at NASA JPL.

Ground-based astronomy: The planned Extremely Large Telescopes such as the Giant Magellan Telescope and such as the Thirty Meter Telescope and the European ELT. Space surveillance and optical communications: Funded by Department of Defense, these have classified agendas. Microscopy: Modalities include multi-photon fluorescence and localization microscopy such as (STED, STORM, PALM and MINFLUX).