This Phase I SBIR will demonstrate the feasibility of a process to create multi-layer thin-film optics for the far-infrared/sub-millimeter wave spectral region. The process will create alternating sub-wavelength layers of window and air with high index contrast. The process proven in Phase I will be applied to Phase II commercial prototypes including mirrors with reflectivity exceeding 99.99%, design tunable band-pass and band-blocking filters, anti-reflection optics, and scanning Fabry-Perot spectrometers with simultaneous unprecedented high resolution and broad free spectral range at 100 micron wavelengths. Such spectroscopic component technology can be immediately integrated into a number of future NASA missions in Earth and planetary science, astronomy, and astrophysics, as well as having dual use and large potential markets in defense, security, and biomedicine.
