Beryllium Optical Mirrors By Vapor Deposition

Optical mirrors made of beryllium can provide advantages over those made of other materials primarily because of their high elastic modulus and low density. Conventional techniques for producing mirrors can he used with beryllium but only with difficulty and the resulting surface often contains defects from the metal itself. Preliminary experiments have shown that optical mirror surfaces on metal can be replicated with vapor deposited beryllium under carefully selected and controlled conditions.