Design and Fabrication of an Additively Manufactured Aluminum Mirror with Compound Surfaces

Abstract

Microsatellites have a great attraction to researchers due to their high reliability, resource utilization, low cost, and compact size. As the core component of the optical payload, the mirror directly affects the system package size. Therefore, the structural design of mirrors is critical in the compact internal space of microsatellites. This study proposes a closed-back mirror with composite surfaces based on additive manufacturing (AM). Compared with the open-back mirror, it provides excellent optomechanical performance. In addition, AM significantly reduces the intricate mechanical parts’ manufacturing difficulty. Finally, the roughness was better than 2 nm. The surface shape of the AM aluminum mirror reached RMS 1/10λ (λ = 632.8 nm) with the aid of ultra-precision machining technologies such as single-point diamond turning (SPDT), surface modification, and polishing, and the maximum deviation of the surface shape was about RMS 1/42λ (λ = 632.8 nm) after the thermal cycle test, which verified the optical grade application of AM.