The glass cold-shaping technology for the mirrors of the Cherenkov Telescope Array
2014
The next generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes will require the production of thousands of mirror
segments; an unprecedented amount of optical surface. To accomplish this, the Italian Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica
(INAF) has recently developed a successful technique.
This method, called glass cold-shaping, is mainly intended for the manufacturing of mirrors for optical systems with an
angular resolution of a few arcminutes, intended to operate in extreme environments. Its principal mechanical features
are very low weight and high rigidity of the resulting segments, and its cost and production time turn out to be very
competitive as well. The process is based on the shaping of thin glass foils by means of forced bending at room
temperature; a sandwich structure is then assembled for retaining the imposed shape. These mirrors are composted of
commercial, off-the-shelf materials.
In this contribution we give an overview of the latest results achieved in the manufacturing of the pre-production series
of mirrors for the Medium Size and Small Size Telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array observatory.
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