Test production of a mirror segment for the Thirty Meter Telescope

Abstract

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a next-generation optical/infrared telescope to be constructed on Mauna Kea, Hawaii toward the end of this decade, as an international project. Its 30 m primary mirror consists of 492 off-axis aspheric segmented mirrors. This paper describes the progress of the test fabrication of an outermost mirror segment for the TMT as a joint R&D program between National Astronomical Observatory and Canon. A zero-expansion glass CLEARCERAM™ blank was polished by a computer-controlled small-tool polishing machine (CSSP, Canon) and its surface shape was measured by a touch-probe measuring machine(A-Ruler, Canon). Residuals of lower Zernike terms of the surface shape were 11 nmRMS, clearing the original specifications based on the structure function. There remains, however, a need to fulfill latest revised specifications. Possible solutions to improve and achieve the new specifications and a plan for revising the process for mass production are also described.