Paper 13100-287
Development of a self-assembling ferrofluidic ionic liquid mirror
Abstract
Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Zenith program, a novel concept has been developed for a self-assembling ferrofluidic ionic liquid mirror (FILM) telescope utilizing a Halbach array of permanent neodymium magnets. The primary mirror will be constructed from two immiscible liquids containing reflective and magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), which will spontaneously phase separate. To maximize reflectivity, minimize wavefront error (WFE), and anchor the reflective layer, the volume of the upper liquid has been minimized. The system is scalable and self-healing and can be deployed without applied acceleration or rotation. The Halbach array overcomes the force of gravity for a ground-based liquid mirror, providing a Kelvin body force potential parallel to the surface of the array. The liquids are held in place and shaped within the mirror by use of the magnetic array, hydrophilic materials, and the high surface tension and high viscosity of the liquid. By tuning the position of the magnet assembly and application of components that tune the effective magnetic field, the liquid surface is forced to adopt the desired optical shape and allows tilting off-axis and slewing with acceptable imaging quality WFE levels.
Presenter
Honeywell Aerospace (Canada)
Neil Rowlands is an Engineer Fellow with Honeywell Aerospace’s Missions, Instruments & Payloads Group in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He obtained his B.Sc (Engineering Physics) from the University of Alberta in 1985 and his Ph.D. (Astronomy) from Cornell University in 1991. For the past 28 years, he has been developing space-borne scientific instrumentation for the space physics, atmospheric sciences and astronomy communities, including the Canadian contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Fine Guidance Sensor & Near-Infrared Imager & Slitless Spectrograph (FGS/NIRISS).