Advances in 3D printing technology allow for the manufacture of topologically complex parts not otherwise feasible through conventional manufacturing methods. Maturing metal and ceramic 3D printing technologies are becoming more adept at printing complex shapes, enabling topologically intricate mirror substrates. One application area that can benefit from additive manufacturing is reflective optics used in high energy laser (HEL) systems that require materials with a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high specific stiffness, and (most importantly) high thermal conductivity to effectively dissipate heat from the optical surface. Currently, the limits of conventional manufacturing dictate the topology of HEL optics to be monolithic structures that rely on passive cooling mechanisms and high reflectivity coatings to withstand laser damage. 3D printing enables the manufacture of embedded cooling channels in metallic mirror substrates to allow for (1) active cooling and (2) tunable structures. This paper describes the engineering and analysis of an actively cooled composite optical structure to demonstrate the potential of 3D printing on the improvement of optomechanical systems.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.