Rapid monolith development at scale is achieved through use of a functionally equivalent optic simulant made from a low-cost material to substitute the functional optic. Monolith optical performance is affected not only by thermal expansion but also by temperature inhomogeneity due to the temperature dependence of refractive index.

Aeroptics are a proposed new class of monolithic optical system in aerogel fabricated by molding around a master mandrel. This approach combines the intrinsic stability of proven monolithic telescopes, with the ultralow density of silica aerogels. In Aeroptics, the monolith is hollow with an aerogel substrate providing a supporting structure. Theoretically, Aeroptics could enable 1-m aperture…

This invention achieves both a wider field of view and faster f-number within a monolithic substrate by incorporating an aspheric convex refractive first surface and a planar aspheric field corrector surface on the final refractive surface. These two refractive surfaces work in conjunction with a concave aspheric primary and convex aspheric secondary mirror (e.g. Cassegrain type) to improve…

LLNL researchers have developed a high average power Faraday rotator that is gas-cooled and uniquely designed to dissipate heat uniformly so that it does not build up in the optical component and affect its performance.  The Faraday rotator material is sliced into smaller disks like a loaf of bread so that high speed helium gas can flow between the slices.  With this highly efficient…

This invention discloses a method to minimize transient variations in the wavelength- and/or pointing-behavior of an optic, without requiring a reduction in its thermal resistance, optical absorption, or operating irradiance. The invention employs a combination of a time-varying heat source and time-varying thermal resistance and/or heat sink temperature to achieve temperature stability of the…

This invention concerns a new type of optic: a transient gas or plasma volume grating produced indirectly by small secondary lasers or directly by nonlinear processes using the primary beams themselves. When used in conjunction with advantageously placed shielding it offers a means of protecting the final optical components of a high-repetition-rate IFE facility. These transmission optics are…

The suppressor has a series of chambers for the propellant to flow through, but unlike all traditional suppressors, the chambers are open, not closed. The propellant is not trapped. It keeps moving. We manage its unimpeded flow through the suppressor. This is the key underlying technology of our suppressor design that enables all the improvements over the 100-year old traditional designs.

Livermore Lab researchers have developed a tunable shaped charge which comprises a cylindrical liner commonly a metal such as copper or molybdenum but almost any solid material can be used and a surround layer of explosive in which the detonation front is constrained to propagate at an angle with respect to the charge axis.  The key to the concept is the ability to deposit a surrounding…

Livermore Lab researchers have developed a method that combines additive manufacturing (AM) with an infill step to render a final component which is energetic. In this case, AM is first used to print a part of the system, and this material can either be inert or energetic on its own. A second material is subsequently added to the structure via a second technique such as casting, melt…

Monolithic Telescopes are a novel implementation of a solid catadioptric design form, instantiated in a monolithic block of fused silica.

LLNL is developing the Space-based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris (STARE). STARE is a constellation of low cost nano-satellites (less than 5Kg) in low-earth orbit dedicated to the observation of space debris in conjunction with a ground-based infrastructure for maintenance, coordination and data processing. Each nano-satellite in the constellation is capable of recording an…