[Courtesy of KRISS]
South Korean scientists claimed Thursday to have developed a new silicon carbide reflector that could be used for space aircraft cameras like one used by the New Horizons for its historic mission to explore the Pluto.
The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) said that researchers at its space optics center have successfully produced an aspheric silicon carbide reflecting mirror, which is 700 millimeters in diameter and weighs nine kilograms.
KRISS is a government-funded institute responsible for providing national measurement standards and advancing measurement technologies.
The institute said it has used diamond grinders but did not elaborate on its processing technique, saying that only a small number of countries like the United States, Germany, and France acquired related technology.
Silicon carbide, a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC, is used in semiconductor electronics devices that operate at high temperatures or high voltages, or both.
KRISS said its reflector could be used widely for space science and exploration as it can resist extreme temperature changes.
It said its reflector matches a silicon carbide mirror used by the New Horizons which made its first-ever space mission to explore the Pluto last year.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
