The development of lightweight, large-aperture optics is of vital importance to the Department of Defense and the US Air Force for improving current capabilities in advanced remote sensing applications. Synthetic polymer optics offer weight and flexibility advantages over current generation glass mirrors, but they require active control to maintain tight surface figure tolerances. This research explores the feasibility of using imbedded piezoelectric materials to control polymer optical surfaces. Membrane-based mirrors were constructed to develop and validate control techniques. Test results verified that surface control on the order of tens of wavelengths is possible using these systems.

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