Additive manufacturing in ceramics: targeting lightweight mirror applications in the visible, ultraviolet and x-ray

Additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing), which builds a structure layer-by-layer, has clear benefits in the production of lightweight mirrors for astronomy, as it can create optimised lightweight structures and combine multiple components into one. AM aluminium mirrors have been reported that demonstrate a 44% reduction in mass from an equivalent solid and the consolidation of nine parts into one. However, there is a limit on the micro-roughness that can be achieved using AM aluminium at ∼5nm RMS (root mean square; Sq), therefore, to target applications at shorter wavelengths alternative AM materials are required. New capabilities in AM ceramics, silicon carbide infiltrated with silicon (SiC + Si) and fused silica, offer the possibility to combine the design benefits of AM with a material suitable for visible, ultraviolet and x-ray applications.
This paper will introduce the different printing methods and post-processing steps to convert AM ceramic samples into reflective mirrors. The samples are flat disks, 50mm diameter and 5mm in height, with three samples printed in SiC + Si and three printed in fused silica. Early results in polishing the SiC + Si material demonstrated that a micro-roughness of ∼2nm Sq could be achieved. To build on this study, the 50mm SiC + Si samples had three different AM finishing steps to explore the best approach for abrasive lapping and polishing, the reflective surfaces achieved demonstrated micro-roughness values varied between 2nm and 5nm Sq for the different AM finishing steps. To date, the printed fused silica material has heritage in lens applications; however, its suitability for mirror fabrication was to be determined. Abrasive lapping and polishing was used to process the fused silica to reflective surface and an average micro-roughness of <1nm Sq achieved on the samples.