Abstract: The feasibility of forming very thin (approximately 100 um), flexible membranes into low-cost, low-mass, large diameter optical elements is being explored. While spherical or parabolic shapes are the ultimate goal for imaging and other light-gathering applications, there are potential applications for large, planar surfaces. Also, knowledge gained while working with planar membranes is being applied to concave structures. Recent efforts have concentrated on measuring and understanding the behavior of currently available materials. This paper discusses experimental results, and describes measurement techniques and membrane materials used. Highlighted are our most recent results on a 11-inch diameter membrane mirror which we measured to be flat to approximately 0.1 um rms.!11
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机译：摘要：正在探索将非常薄（约100 um）的柔性膜制成低成本，低质量，大直径光学元件的可行性。球形或抛物线形是成像和其他聚光应用的最终目标，但对于大的平面表面也有潜在的应用。而且，在使用平面膜时获得的知识也被应用于凹形结构。最近的工作集中在测量和理解当前可用材料的行为上。本文讨论了实验结果，并介绍了测量技术和所使用的膜材料。重点介绍的是我们在一个11英寸直径的膜镜上获得的最新结果，我们测得该镜的平坦度约为0.1 um rms。！11
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