Measuring Success: Precision Measurement Instruments Find Uses Spanning Orbits to Eyewear

Since its launch in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been an unqualified success.  The telescope's observations have led to regular findings that push the boundaries of our astronomical knowledge, models and imagination.

In 2023, JWST's observations intensified the debate around the ‘correct’ value of the Hubble constant after seemingly verifying a previous discrepancy between model predictions and observations. This prompted many to re-question the leading cosmic expansion model. Last year, the telescope spotted an exoplanet (catchily named PSR J2322-2650b) having a rare atmosphere containing pure carbon that can condense in its atmosphere to rain down as diamonds. It appears the planet orbits so close to its dense neutron star that gravity morphs it roughly into the shape of a lemon.

Underpinning these discoveries, which evoke science fiction more than science homework, is the admittedly less glamorous (but crucial) science of precision measurements. The JWST has redefined the edge of what we can see; however, to build it, first we had to push the boundaries of what we can measure.  

To name one example, achieving the imaging power of JWST in a telescope requires an extremely fine-grained understanding of the shape of surfaces that collect and direct light onto a detector.  Minute imperfections in the shape of imaging surfaces can cause optical aberrations that reduce the ultimate imaging power of a telescope. If these imperfections can be measured to a high degree of accuracy, however, the surfaces' shapes can be adjusted or accounted for to minimize deteriorating effects. Supporting structures require similar high-fidelity attention to avoid putting mechanical strain on optical surfaces that could cause deformations once mounted. To make matters more difficult, measurement systems may also need to account for other hurdles, such as significant vibration of the optical surfaces during the measurement process.

One company that worked with NASA engineers on problems like this one is Arizona-based firm 4D Technology. They developed a series of testing equipment for JWST's various major optical systems, such as an interferometer developed for testing the "stability of the back-plane structure for [JWST]'s primary mirror” in the presence of vibration, according to the company. The device implemented multi-wavelength interferometry for the first time, allowing larger deviations to be measured without sacrificing precision at an astonishing acquisition time of nine nanoseconds, minimizing the effects of vibration.  

The instruments developed for JWST by 4D technology have now been used in optical systems in commercial contexts, including lens testing for high-end cameras or virtual reality equipment. Evidently, as the sophistication of optical systems in virtual reality headsets has increased in recent years, so too has the need for advanced optical measurement systems that can provide the information needed to engineer effectively at microscopic scales.

4D Technology, now a subsidiary of Onto Innovation, is a great example of a company repurposing space technology for terrestrial uses. This approach allows innovations developed in aid of a single project to continue to act as a revenue stream for the contracting R&D company well beyond the life of the project itself.  

As a contractor working with NASA, establishing clear intellectual property terms from the outset would have been important to enable post-project commercialization of the measurement instruments to progress smoothly. Similarly, a strong patent portfolio protects the intellectual investment involved in developing cutting-edge technology by preventing third parties from free-riding on the research of other companies. In the present example, wisely, Onto Innovation has filed at least one patent application directed to an interferometer using multiple wavelengths, likely intended to cover the same or a similar system as developed by 4D Technology for NASA.

We may be captivated by the "science fiction" allure of diamond rain and rugby-ball planets, but those discoveries are only possible because of the comparatively pedestrian art of vibration control and surface measurements. The success of the JWST is in no small part down to the engineers and companies who accounted for every micron and nanosecond of error. Having a solid intellectual property strategy is key to allowing those companies to make later commercial use of their contributions to projects like the JWST. 4D Technology and Onto Innovation provide a textbook example of how to execute space-to-home technology transfer.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact me on emcneil@marks-clerk.com or else the wider patents team at glasgow@marks-clerk.com.