Sensitivity of stellar guidance optics is limited by reflection of stray light inside the optical system. Improvement by 50-100% or more can be obtained with a black coating, discovered By Charles Feldman at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Labroatory, consisting of submicroscopic columns of amorphous silicon produced by etching the surface of a solid silicon layer. The program, with dr. Feldman as consultant, will explore the coating and etching processes involved and optimize the optical and mechanical properties of the film in preparation for practical applications to be developed in Phase II
