Silicon carbide (SiC) has long been recognized as an attractive mirror material due to its superior mechanical and thermal properties when compared to conventional optical materials. However, the material properties of silicon carbide,
which make the material attractive from a design standpoint, have often precluded its use when low cost and rapid delivery of an optical mirror were required.
It is normally expensive to produce a lightweighted, super-polished SiC substrate, and the lead-time for obtaining a finished substrate used to be several months. However, working in conjunction a material provider, and using deterministic finishing techniques for the rapid fabrication of lightweight silicon carbide optics.
Energyn can produce high-quality SiC mirrors in a much shorter time as compared to traditional techniques.