The Innovation: A Step Beyond
On September 1, 2026, a patent was officially issued to NASA for a revolutionary method of fabricating “binary-phase photon sieves.” A photon sieve is a flat, ultra-thin membrane covered in millions of mathematically positioned microscopic holes that acts as a lens, using diffraction to perfectly focus Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light and X-rays without the need for heavy, expensive curved mirrors.
This newly patented binary-phase architecture represents a major technological leap beyond standard photon sieves. To operate at peak optical efficiency, the membrane must be less than 0.5 microns thick, making it so fragile that it easily warps or breaks during manufacturing. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Lead Inventor Kevin Denis solved this problem by depositing the delicate sieve material onto a substrate, etching the holes, and attaching a highly specialized, temporary “etch-resistant cover” made of metal and glass. This cover acts as a heat-sink and a rigid backbone, safely supporting the fragile membrane while the rest of the substrate is carved away. The result is a flawless, large-diameter flat lens capable of achieving unprecedented optical efficiencies for future space telescopes.
HTIDeS Development and the Heritage Pipeline
The foundational research driving this advanced patent was led by Principle Investigator (PI) Dr. Adrian Daw and supported by NASA’s Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (HTIDeS) program. This achievement is part of a broader HTIDeS-funded optics portfolio that also includes the development of robust EUV diffraction gratings. While those robust gratings achieved spaceflight heritage aboard the Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph (EUNIS) sounding rocket in 2021 and the Solar EruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) in 2025, the baseline photon sieves served a critical role on the ground. The first-generation sieves were successfully utilized for the pre-launch ground calibration of the EUNIS EUV spectrometer, proving their value as a highly precise optical standard.
Mission Infusions: MUSE, ESIS-II, and VISORS
The baseline photon sieve and grating technologies developed under these awards are currently supporting important science missions. The current generation of photon sieves is actively being utilized to provide unprecedented, high-fidelity ground calibration for the multi-slit EUV spectrograph on NASA’s upcoming Multi-Slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) mission (launching 2027). The associated EUV gratings will fly on both MUSE and the Extreme Ultraviolet Snapshot Imaging Spectrograph II (ESIS-II) sounding rocket in 2027.
Furthermore, the first-ever demonstration of a photon sieve operating in the vacuum of space is currently targeted for the Virtual Super-resolution Optics with Reconfigurable Swarms (VISORS) CubeSat mission. VISORS is a pending proposal currently awaiting funding; if selected, the distributed, two-satellite mission has a potential launch date of May 2028.
Ultimately, once the baseline sieve technology is successfully demonstrated in space aboard VISORS, this newly patented “binary-phase” fabrication method stands ready as the next-generation upgrade, promising even higher efficiencies for future Heliophysics observatories.
Patent Details
Technology: Method of Fabricating a Binary-Phase Photon Sieve
PI: Dr. Adrian Daw, NASA GSFC and Lead Inventor: Kevin Denis, NASA GSFC
HESTO Project IDs: 17-HTIDS17-0046 (Photon Sieves), 16-HTIDS16_2-0064 (EUV Gratings)
Patent Issued: September 1, 2026
NASA Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Disclosure: This article was created with assistance from AI (ChatGSFC) to summarize content from multiple sources. The resulting article has been reviewed and edited by the author team.