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Beryllium Mirrors: Refinements Enable New Applications

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Beryllium mirrors are finding commercial applications, while maintaining their military and space applications. Refinements in design and improvements in manufacturing technology have cut costs and new coatings have enabled high-power applications allowing a three-fold increase in manufacturing process speeds and economics.

Vladimir Vudler and Peter Richard, Hardric Laboratories, Inc.

With a specific gravity of 1.85 g/cm3, beryllium is the lightest metal that is workable. It is 45 percent lighter than aluminum and approximately five times as stiff. Its stiffness to weight ratio (164) makes it a natural for low inertia, fast scanning applications. Since the 1980s, beryllium mirrors have been used in semiconductor manufacturing and memory repair; beryllium's light weight assures speed and its stiffness assures accuracy of figure to the optics. Many applications benefit from beryllium's natural heat sink and radiator qualities. Its excellent thermal conductivity (216...Read full article

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    optical coatings
    Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are designed to enhance the performance of optical systems by controlling the way light interacts with the surfaces of the components. The primary purposes of optical coatings include: Antireflection coating: This type of coating is designed to reduce reflections from the surfaces of optical...
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