Paper
27 December 2001 Thermo-mechanical performance of precision C/SiC mounts
William A. Goodman, Claus E. Mueller, Marc T. Jacoby, Jim D. Wells
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
For complex shaped, lightweight, high precision opto- mechanical structures that must operate in adverse environments and over wide ranges of temperature, we consider IABG's optical grade silicon carbide composite ceramic (C/SiC) as the material of choice. C/SiC employs conventional NC machining/milling equipment to rapidly fabricate near-net shape parts, providing substantial schedule, cost, and risk savings for high precision components. Unlike powder based SiC ceramics, C/SiC does not experience significant shrinkage during processing, nor does it suffer from incomplete densification. If required, e.g. for large-size components, a fully-monolithic ceramic joining technique can be applied. Generally, the thermal and mechanical properties of C/SiC are tunable in certain ranges by modifying certain process steps. This paper focuses on the thermo-mechanical performance of new, high precision mounts designed by Schafer Corporation and manufactured by IABG. The mounts were manufactured using standard optical grade C/SiC (formulation internally called A-3). The A-3 formulation has a near-perfect CTE match with silicon, making it the ideal material to athermally support Schafer produced Silicon Lightweight Mirrors (SLMs) that will operate in a cryogenic environment. Corresponding thermo- mechanical testing and analysis is presented in this manuscript.
© (2001) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
William A. Goodman, Claus E. Mueller, Marc T. Jacoby, and Jim D. Wells "Thermo-mechanical performance of precision C/SiC mounts", Proc. SPIE 4451, Optical Manufacturing and Testing IV, (27 December 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.453644
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Cited by 2 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Mirrors

Silicon

Aluminum

Ceramics

Silicon carbide

Mirror mounts

Spatial light modulators

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