Influence of Core and Hexapod Geometry, and Local Reinforcement on the Performance of Ultra-Lightweight ULE Mirror

The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) mission has unique optical performance requirements which drive the mirror design process beyond the traditional criteria. While mass and stiffness are still important, the response to inertia loading (expressed in terms of Zernike coefficients) to omni-directional excitation dominates the effort. While a Zerodur mirror is the current baseline, as mass budgets change, a ULE design is being studied as a potential alternative. This trade study looked at over 264 design variations using the Arnold Mirror Modeler and ANSYS(c) to investigate the influence of various design elements, including: substrate thickness, core cell size, hexapod geometry and local reinforcement. Design 'goodness' was evaluated based on the mirror's inertial deformation response to omni-directional input. This response was calculated via RSSing Zernike polynomial responses to (XYZ) accelerations.