Boulder Nonlinear Systems Awarded NASA Contract

LAFAYETTE, Colorado | August 12, 2021

Boulder Nonlinear Systems (BNS) has been awarded a new Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a laser interferometer with programmable reference surface.

Aimed at improving the ability of NASA and industry users to characterize optical surfaces and components, the laser interferometer in this contract makes use of BNS’s latest large-format liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) spatial light modulators (SLMs). With a large 1536x1536 pixel square array, the MacroSLM will add programmable phase control to a laser interferometer. This will allow users to measure optical components whose shapes deviate significantly from what available references can compensate. Such optical components include aspheres and freeform optics, useful for compact, high-performance optical systems, as well as mirrors experiencing the huge temperature gradients and changing gravitational forces common in orbiting telescopes.

The resulting technology will have benefits for NASA’s large telescope optics programs, as well as for industry manufacturers. It will also further the development of BNS’s portfolio of LCoS SLMs.