Beam Control Optical Assemblies
Complete optical assemblies are self-contained optical instruments designed to deliver a defined optical function as an integrated unit.
Precision beam control for spaceborne optical systems
Astravon develops beam control optical assemblies for satellite payloads and spaceborne instruments requiring controlled beam geometry, wavefront quality, transmission and environmental stability.
Our assemblies support laser communication terminals, active sensing, optical metrology, pointing and tracking, and scientific instruments. We provide programme-specific support from optical architecture and tolerance analysis through manufacture, coating, assembly, alignment and verification.
Beam Expanders & Collimators
Custom beam expanders and collimators support diffraction-limited and near-diffraction-limited beam paths. Each assembly can be configured for beam expansion, reduction, collimation and downstream beam-parameter matching.
Typical beam-expander magnification is 1.5× to 10×; final configuration is defined by wavelength, source parameters, optical architecture and package constraints.
Transmission, stray light and laser-damage-threshold performance are addressed through material, surface-quality and coating selection, while high-power and high-fluence requirements are assessed against the relevant laser and thermal conditions.
Representative collimator design range
The following values are representative. Final values are defined against the source characteristics and payload-level requirements.
|
Parameter |
Representative range / performance |
|
Effective focal length (EFL) |
2 mm–150 mm; custom designs to 500 mm+ |
|
Numerical aperture (NA) |
0.02–0.6 |
|
Clear aperture |
3 mm–50 mm; custom apertures available |
|
Collimated beam diameter |
0.5 mm–30 mm |
|
Beam divergence |
<0.1 mrad typical |
|
Wavefront error |
<λ/4 to <λ/10 |
|
Focusing accuracy |
±1% to ±0.1% |
|
Transmission |
>99% with appropriate AR coating |
Engineering parameters
- Input wavelength or wavelength range
- Input beam diameter, divergence and beam quality
- Required output beam diameter and divergence
- Magnification or reduction ratio
- Numerical aperture and focal length
- Wavefront-error requirement
- Transmission and coating requirement
- Laser-power, fluence and damage-threshold considerations
- Polarisation sensitivity, where applicable
- Mechanical interface, alignment tolerance, mass and envelope
- Thermal and environmental verification requirements
Astravon’s optical approaches include UV-to-IR materials, such as fused silica, calcium fluoride, BK7 and specialist optical glasses, together with aspheric, achromatic or reflective designs where appropriate.
Afocal & Relay Optical Assemblies
Programme-specific afocal and relay assemblies for controlled transfer of beam geometry, field, pupil position and angular information.
Configurations can interface transmitters, receivers, scanning subsystems, steering mechanisms and detectors, including accessible-pupil designs for scanning mirrors and fast steering mirrors.
Reference use case: large-field 1× pupil relay lens system
Astravon has developed a large-field 1× pupil relay lens with an externally accessible pupil. This non-focal architecture allows scanning mirrors or fast steering mirrors to be placed at both entrance and exit pupils, supporting rapid field switching and wide-angle scanning
This is a reference configuration; final performance depends on wavelength, field, pupil, scan mechanism, packaging and environmental requirements.
|
Parameter |
Reference configuration |
|
Operating wavelength |
Near-infrared band |
|
Field of view |
≥40° |
|
Magnification |
1× |
|
Entrance pupil diameter |
≥φ10 mm |
|
Optical performance |
Diffraction-limited |
|
Wavefront error |
≤0.02λ at 632.8 nm |
Design parameters
- Angular magnification and field requirement
- Entrance and exit pupil location
- Pupil diameter and accessibility
- Scan-mirror or fast-steering-mirror interface
- Wavefront error across field and scan range
- Distortion, telecentricity and image-space requirements
- Wavelength range and coating design
- Alignment sensitivity and opto-mechanical stability
- Thermal behaviour and environmental verification
Integrated Beam-Shaping Assemblies
Integrated assemblies deliver programme-specific beam-profile control.
Source characteristics, propagation path, aperture constraints, downstream interfaces, alignment tolerance and mission environment define the optical configuration. Refractive, reflective, diffractive and hybrid architectures can be integrated with precision opto-mechanical housings and alignment features.
Assembly-level parameters
- Input beam quality, diameter, divergence and polarisation
- Required output beam profile and uniformity
- Beam diameter, divergence and far-field requirement
- Wavefront quality and phase control
- Transmission, stray light and ghost management
- Wavelength range and coating optimisation
- Laser-power, fluence and damage-threshold considerations
- Thermal stability and material compatibility
- Mechanical mounting, alignment datum strategy and tolerance budget
- Environmental verification requirements
Design Inputs & Engineering Parameters
Beam-shaping assemblies are defined from the required optical output and the constraints of the wider payload architecture.
|
Parameter |
Requirement / design input |
|
Operating wavelength / spectral bandwidth |
1064 nm ± 1 nm |
|
Input beam diameter |
Defined by source characteristics |
|
Input beam divergence |
Defined by source characteristics |
|
Input beam quality, M² |
M² ≤ 1.1 |
|
Input polarisation state |
Defined by mission requirement |
|
Target output beam profile |
Gaussian/top-hat |
|
Output beam diameter |
Defined by mission requirement |
|
Output divergence / far-field requirement |
Defined by mission requirement |
|
Beam-profile uniformity |
±5% |
|
Wavefront-error requirement |
≤λ/10 RMS |
|
Clear aperture |
Defined by mission requirement |
|
Propagation distance / working distance |
Defined by system architecture |
|
Transmission requirement |
≥95% |
|
Stray-light and ghost requirement |
Defined by mission requirement |
|
Laser power, pulse format and fluence |
Defined by source characteristics |
|
Laser-damage-threshold requirement |
Defined by laser parameters and mission life |
|
Thermal operating range and stability requirement |
Defined by orbit and mission profile |
|
Mechanical envelope, mass and mounting interface |
Defined by payload integration constraints |
|
Alignment tolerance and datum strategy |
Defined by optical design and assembly plan |
|
Environmental and verification requirements |
ECSS |
Final configuration is determined through optical, opto-mechanical and thermal analysis measured against programme-specific performance and verification requirements.
Engineering, manufacture and verification
Astravon manages the interaction between optical prescription, materials, coatings, opto-mechanical design, manufacture and assembly alignment.
Our capabilities include:
- Optical architecture and feasibility studies
- Beam propagation, wavefront and tolerance analysis
- Optical, opto-mechanical and thermal design
- Material, coating and laser-damage-threshold assessment
- Precision optical manufacture and ion-beam polishing
- AR and high-damage-threshold coating development
- CNC opto-mechanical fabrication
- Fibre ferrule and precision mounting integration, where applicable
- Interferometry, MTF and surface-quality testing
- Traceable inspection data and verification planning
- Assembly, alignment and environmental test support
Qualification status is defined at programme level, depending on mission environment, applicable standards, verification plan and acceptance criteria.
Where detailed heritage information is confidential, Astravon can discuss relevant technical approaches, experience and verification pathways within an appropriate NDA framework.
When to engage Astravon
Engage with Astravon when beam-control performance is constrained by more than a single optical parameter.
Typical starting points include:
- A required far-field divergence or beam diameter has been defined, but the optical architecture remains open
- Wavefront quality, transmission and laser-damage threshold must be balanced within a constrained payload envelope
- A scanning or fast-steering mirror requires a defined pupil location across a wide field
- A relay or afocal assembly must preserve performance through thermal and environmental conditions
- A laser source, fibre interface or downstream aperture has changed and the beam-transfer optics require re-optimisation
- An existing optical design requires an independent manufacturability, tolerance or verification assessment
Initial discussions can begin with available source data, wavelength, beam parameters, interface constraints, environmental requirements and target optical performance.
Performance is defined through optical budgets, traceable metrology and verification planning suited to your specific mission requirements appropriate to your specific mission needs.