Additive manufacture of optical components

A method of forming an optical component comprising:

• forming a build plate comprising a facesheet attached to a mandrel that is contoured to match the facesheet;
• and
• forming successive layers of a core material structure on the facesheet by depositing a slurry comprising a glass powder material onto the core material structure, and fusing the glass powder material to the core material structure,
• wherein a composite layer of the core material structure has a uniform thickness and is formed by:
• depositing a first slurry comprising a first glass powder material onto only a portion of the core material structure, drying the first slurry, and heating the first glass powder material to form a first portion of the composite layer comprising a first glass material fused to the core material structure;
• and
• after drying and heating the first glass powder material, depositing a second slurry comprising a second glass powder material different from the first glass powder material onto a remaining portion of the core material structure, drying the second slurry, and heating the second glass powder material to form a second portion of the composite layer comprising a second glass material fused to the core material structure to complete the composite layer so that the composite layer has different sets of material properties within itself as a function of location within the composite layer.