3D Printed Submillimeter Reflectors: a New Design and Manufacturing Methodology

Submillimeter wavelength (1mm > λ > 0.1mm) reflectors are being utilized to an increasing degree in NASA missions due to their ability to observe phenomena in disciplines ranging from climatology to astrophysics. Due to the inherent form factor of reflectors and the need for stiffening backing structures, production is often limited by manufacturing restrictions that can lead to mass, cost, and/or schedule issues. To address these issues, we have developed a new manufacturing technique based on additive manufacturing and the use of light weight structures to enable a new class of low cost, high performance submillimeter reflectors.