Recent field experience with optical sensor windows on both ground and airborne platforms has shown a significant
increase in window fracturing from foreign object debris (FOD) impacts and as a by-product of asymmetrical warfare.
Common optical sensor window materials such as borosilicate glass do not typically have high impact resistance.
Emerging advanced optical window materials such as aluminum oxynitride offer the potential for a significant
improvement in FOD impact resistance due to their superior surface hardness, fracture toughness and strength properties.
To confirm the potential impact resistance improvement achievable with these emerging materials, Goodrich ISR
Systems in collaboration with Surmet Corporation undertook a set of comparative FOD impact tests of optical sensor
windows made from borosilicate glass and from aluminum oxynitride. It was demonstrated that the aluminum oxynitride
windows could withstand up to three times the FOD impact velocity (as compared with borosilicate glass) before
fracture would occur. These highly encouraging test results confirm the utility of this new highly viable window solution
for use on new ground and airborne window multispectral applications as well as a retrofit to current production
windows. We believe that this solution can go a long way to significantly reducing the frequency and life cycle cost of
window replacement.
Large area sapphire windows have been fabricated by edge-bonding multiple panes. A 4-pane edge-bonded 320 x 410 x 7 mm sapphire window with excellent optical characteristics has been successfully finished. Two different bonding methods were used to build up the 4-pane window blank. Pairs of commercially available EFG sapphire panes were first bonded using a 1500°C bonding process. The bonded pairs were then joined using a 1100°C process. Bond strengths for the two methods are approximately 130 MPa (20 kpsi). Optical finishing was completed using standard methods for sapphire with no significant increase in finishing time caused by the bonds. There are no deleterious optical effects or visible optical distortion due to the bond lines. The edge bonding technology can now produce 600 x 600 mm flat window blanks. Conformal windows have also been produced using the edge bonding method. Very high bond strengths of 250 MPa (37 kpsi) have been attained on smaller samples using an optimized solid ceramic fillet.
Refractive index matching glass coatings have been applied to mechanically-ground sapphire blanks using a modified glazing technique. The as-fired coatings are optically clear and well adhered, producing coated sapphire windows with up to 88 percent in-line transmittance and excellent optical imaging characteristics. Coated sapphire windows up to 150 x 230 mm in size have been produced, with additional scale-up to at least 300 x 350 mm planned for the near future. Glass-coated sapphire (GCS) can be rapidly polished in a small fraction of the time required for sapphire itself, thereby substantially reducing the cost of transparent armor. Glass-coated sapphire windows are also being evaluated for precision airborne reconnaissance and FLIR systems, to determine the limits, if any, to transmitted wavefront quality. The feasibility of applying index matching glass coatings to sapphire dome shapes has also been demonstrated. Index matching glass has also been used as a bonding material to fabricate actively cooled sapphire windows with internal channels for hypersonic missiles.
Large aperture (20-inch diameter) sapphire optical windows have been identified as a key element of new and/or upgraded airborne electro-optical systems. These windows typically require a transmitted wave front error of much less than 0.1 waves rms @ 0.63 microns over 7 inch diameter sub-apertures.
Large aperture (14-inch diameter by 4-inch thick) sapphire substrates have also been identified as a key optical element of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). This project is under joint development by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under cooperative agreement with the National Science foundation (NSF). These substrates are required to have a transmitted wave front error of 20 nm (0.032 waves) rms @ 0.63 microns over 6-inch sub-apertures with a desired error of 10 nm (0.016 waves) rms.
Owing to the spatial variations in the optical index of refraction potentially anticipated within 20-inch diameter sapphire, thin (0.25 - 0.5-inch) window substrates, as well as within the 14-inch diameter by 4-inch thick substrates for the LIGO application, our experience tells us that the required transmitted wave front errors can not be achieved with standard optical finishing techniques as they can not readily compensate for errors introduced by inherent material characteristics.
Computer controlled optical finishing has been identified as a key technology likely required to enable achievement of the required transmitted wave front errors. Goodrich has developed this technology and has previously applied it to finish high quality sapphire optical windows with a range of aperture sizes from 4-inch to 13-inch to achieve transmitted wavefront errors comparable to these new requirements.
This paper addresses successful recent developments and accomplishments in the application of this optical finishing technology to sequentially larger aperture and thicker sapphire windows to achieve the challenging transmitted wave front error requirements defined above.
Design, fabrication, and testing were demonstrated for a conformal window imaging system. The conformal window is sapphire and has a toroidal shape. A pair of axially translating cylindrical lenses were constructed to correct the astigmatism introduced by the window across the full field of regard. A telephoto camera lens was used with the system for imaging objects at infinity. Images of some distant targets were collected, and they compare favorably to those images taken with the camera alone.
High strength edge bonds between individual sapphire components have been developed as a means to produce affordable large area windows. Several bonding methods have been demonstrated, with bond fracture strengths ranging from 100-200 MPa. When polished, the bonded windows show excellent transmittance with no degradation in transmitted wavefront quality. The bonding processes have recently been scaled up to 355mm wide, 10mm thick bond lines and multipane windows. Using singly-curved sapphire components for the individual panes, doubly-curved bonded sapphire components have also been produced and polished with excellent results. The edge bonding approach shows promise for fabricating affordable sapphire windows up to 750mm diameter. In addition, recent developments with index-matching glass coatings show the feasibility of substantial cost reductions in optical finishing of sapphire windows, particularly for transparent armor.
KEYWORDS: Zinc, Coating, Surface finishing, Polishing, Chemical vapor deposition, Chemical elements, Single point diamond turning, Domes, Spherical lenses, Aspheric lenses
Recently precision replication of flat, spherical and aspheric surfaces was demonstrated in ZnS by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Two-inch size ZnS parts were replicated successfully down to a fraction of a wave in the visible and finish of 20-180 Angstroms RMS. The replication technology was then extended to produce six best-fit-sphere ZnS corrector elements of diameter 2.4-inch by replicating on Al2O3 and SiO2 coated, highly polished and diamond turned ZnS mandrels. These replicated corrector elements measured an inside surface figure of 0.14-0.27 Angstroms RMS and smoothness of about 41 Angstroms RMS. Mandrel reusability was then demonstrated by replicating on several previously used corrector element mandrels which were minimally refurbished (mandrel surface was cleaned with acetone). These replicas and mandrels measured essentially same surface figure and smoothness after second replication as before. After replication, analysis was performed on a few mandrels, which did not release from the replicas. Cause of this adherence was determined to be presence of 10-20 micron size pinholes in the release coating. Very good replication was achieved on those areas where no pinholes were present. The integrity of the release coating determines the durability of the replication mandrel.
BaO-Ga2O3-GeO2(BGG) glasses have the desired properties for window applications in the 0.5-5micrometers wavelength region. These glasses are low cost alternatives to the currently used window materials and are being scaled- up to large sizes for various Department of Defense (DoD) applications. Fabrication of a high optical quality 6.5' x 8.5' x 0.5' rectangular BGG glass window has already been demonstrated. A transmitted wave front error of about (lambda) /15 at 632nm has been achieved in polished BGG glasses. Recently a 20' round glass window blank has been cast. Although the mechanical properties of BGG glass are acceptable for various window applications, it is demonstrated here that they can be further improved significantly either by the glass-ceramization process or by forming a composite. Neither process adds any significant cost to the final window material. The glass composite transmits in the 0.5-5micrometers region while the crystallite size in the glass-ceramic currently limits its transmission to the 2-5micrometers region.
Large aperture (20-inch diameter) sapphire optical windows have been identified as a key element of new and/or upgraded airborne electro-optical systems. As has been recently reported, Crystal Systems continues in the development of the technology to grow 20-inch diameter, single crystal sapphire boules to meet this need. Owing to the spatial variations in the optical index of refraction potentially anticipated within 20-inch diameter sapphire crystals, computer controlled optical finishing has been identified as a key technology that may be required to enable achievement of transmitted wavefront errors of much less than 0.1 wave rms. BFGoodrich has developed this technology and has previously applied it to finish 8-inch- diameter sapphire optical windows to a transmitted wavefront error of at least four times better than the above requirement. As a key step in the scaling of these critical window technologies to produce 20-inch-diameter sapphire windows, BFGoodrich and Crystal Systems collaborated to apply these technologies to produce a 13-inch-diameter sapphire window having a transmitted wavefront error of 0.059 wave rms. Optical testing of this 13-inch sapphire crystal revealed that it possessed excellent refractive index homogeneity; far better than had previously been encountered in finishing 8-inch sapphire windows. This improvement in material quality implied that conventional optical finishing could potentially have been employed to finish this window to the 0.059 wave rms error. However, due to our desire to demonstrate the process technology for potential future application to 20-inch diameter sapphire windows, it was fabricated using computer controlled optical finishing. This paper addresses the results of this effort, the lessons learned, and the implications associated with the scaling of these technologies to 20-inch-diameter sapphire optical windows.
Ion implantation and diffusion have been used to create conductive layers in germanium windows while maintaining high LWIR transmission. We have reduced the sheet resistance to below 5 ohms/square while limiting transmission losses to less than 9% in the 8-12 micron range.
With the objective of producing affordable large area windows, high strength edge bonds between individual sapphire components have been developed. Several bonding methods have been demonstrated, with bond fracture strengths ranging from 100 - 200 MPa. The directed energy process, which yields the strongest bonds, has produced bonded sapphire components 600 mm long and 3 mm thick with a 75 mm wide bond line. When polished, the bonded windows show no degradation in transmittance or transmitted wavefront quality. The processes have recently been scaled up to 355 m wide, 10 mm thick bonds lines and multipane window blanks. In addition, doubly-curved bonded sapphire components have been produced and polished with excellent results, using singly curved sapphire components for the individual panes. The edge bonding approaches shows promise for fabricating affordable sapphire windows up to 750 mm diameter.
Aspheric shape ZnS domes were fabricated by a scalable and cost-effective chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to demonstrate the feasibility of producing aerodynamic domes that conform to the shape of the missile body. These domes provide enhanced performance by substantially reducing the missile drag, although they also present issues of CVD deposition, optical fabrication to the required figure and finish, particularly the inside surface, and metrology. Domes were fabricated on 'male' mandrels in a CVD chamber to produce net-shape or precision replicated inside surface and then diamond turned to produce surfaces with figure of a fraction of a wave and finish of 180 angstrom RMS. Important issues involved in near-net-shaping and precision replication of ZnS domes are discussed and data on mandrel and release coating materials, degree of replication achieved and mandrel durability are presented.
Sapphire is being used more frequently as an optical window material in conjunction with optical sensors operations in the UV and in the visible to MWIR bands. This paper addresses two related development efforts. The first is associated with the development of a thick Al2O3 coating to be deposited over gridded sapphire windows operating in the visible to MWIR optical band. This coating serves as an environmental barrier - in particular to protect the grids against high-speed rain impact. The second is associated with the optimization of the optical transmittance properties of the environmental barrier for UV applications. This paper describes each area of development, the resulting coatings, the highly successful performance results achieved.
High strength edge bonds have been achieved between individual sapphire components, showing promise for fabricating window blanks up to 600 mm diameter or larger in size. Several bonding methods were investigated, with a directed-energy diffusion-bonding method yielding components with bond fracture strengths of 200 MPa. Bonded sapphire components 600 mm long and 3 mm thick with a 75 mm wide bond line have been produced. When polished, the bonded windows show no degradation in transmittance or transmitted wavefront quality. Process scale up to larger bonds lines is planned. Mechanical and optical characterizations of sub- scale edge-bonded sapphire windows are presented.
Sapphire is an ideal visible-MWIR window due to its excellent optical and mechanical properties and its availability in large sizes up to 340-mm diameter boules. Anticipated applications for new, high performance optical systems call for even larger, 450-750 mm diameter, windows. The present effort has focused on producing 500-mm diameter sapphire boules using the Heat Exchanger Method. Three experimental growth runs demonstrated the feasibility of producing 500-mm diameter sapphire boules. Completely crack- free boules have not been grown, but large size sapphire pieces up to 400 mm by 280 mm have yielded from these experimental runs.
Sapphire optical materials have limited index of refraction homogeneity. This homogeneity can limit the degree of transmitted wavefront error achievable with current, conventional optical finishing practices. Current practices can not typically compensate well for the localized inhomogeneities in the sapphire substrates resulting in limited transmitted wavefront values. Emerging transmitted wavefront requirements exceed those achievable with current practices. Hughes Danbury Optical Systems recently completed a successful demonstration program in which computer controlled polishing was applied to the fabrication of very low transmitted wavefront error sapphire window. This technique involves measuring the windows in transmission and then polishing them in localized areas to remove the wavefront errors arising from the material index inhomogeneity. The net effect of each localized correction is a high fidelity transmitted wavefront over each subaperture. In the demonstration completed, we stated with windows fabricated to the limit of current, conventional practices. Applying computer controlled polishing, the transmitted wavefront quality was rapidly improved by a factor of up to five over the starting value. These results not only satisfied emerging requirements, but the process also resulted in satisfying parallel requirements of extreme surface smoothness and scatter as defined by the bi- directional transmittance distribution function. This paper addresses the process developed, its results, benefits and applications.
State of the art optical sensing systems performing target acquisition/tracking and surveillance functions are being designed to incorporate a number of sensors into one package. These include visual and MWIR cameras, FLIRs, and laser range finders. These combined systems are being configured to view through a common aperture window. Typical window diameters are to eleven inches, but some surveillance applications have windows approaching twenty inches in diameter. These sensor windows typically operate in hostile environments including very high pressure differentials, large thermal gradients, and severe rain and sand abrasion. EMI/EMC protection and de-icing capabilities are also commonly required. For airborne applications and to minimize thermal gradients, thinner, lightweight, high strength windows are also necessary. Sapphire is an ideal window material to satisfy these requirements due to its high strength, UV-MWIR bandpass, minimal optical scatter, excellent index of refraction homogeneity and very high scratch/impact resistance. Associated optical fabrication, grid lithography and optical coating processes have been developed at Hughes Danbury for sapphire windows. This paper addresses the development of a family of large aperture, broadband sapphire windows which also provide EMI/EMC protection and de-icing capabilities. The resulting design configuration and performance characteristics are also addressed. Future technology development requirements are also discussed.
Optical windows employed in current and future airborne and ground based optical sensor systems are required to provide long service life under extreme environmental conditions including blowing sand and high speed rain. State of the art sensor systems are employing common aperture windows which must provide optical bandpasses from the TV to the LWIR. Operation Desert Storm experience indicates that current optical coatings provide limited environmental protection which adversely affects window life cycle cost. Most of these production coatings also have limited optical bandpasses (LWIR, MWIR, or TV-NIR). A family of optical coatings has been developed which provide a significant increase in rain and sand impact protection to current optical window materials. These coatings can also be tailored to provide either narrow optical bandwidth (e.g., LWIR) or broadband transmittance (TV- LWIR). They have been applied to a number of standard optical window materials. These coating have successfully completed airborne rain and sand abrasion test with minimal impact on optical window performance. Test results are presented. Low cost service life is anticipated as well as the ability to operate windows in even more taxing environments than currently feasible.
Subjecting a-plane (90 degree) polished sapphire discs to a high temperature anneal resulted in a 31% improvement in the average strength, and a decrease in the strength variability. Implications on the design of sapphire pressure windows (thickness, weight, transmission) are reported.
Anticipated airborne targeting, acquisition, and reconnaissance sensor suites will require common, large aperture, highly durable, broadband optical windows. These windows will have apertures as large as 20 inches and will need to transmit from the visible to midwave IR or from the visible to the long wave IR wavelengths. They will also need to survive rain impact at speeds greater than Mach 1.0. Available optical materials do not currently satisfy these requirements. Specific development and improvements will be required. To guide the development efforts, this paper addresses anticipated window requirements, associated improvements that will be required, and potential approaches for achieving them. As a leading manufacturer of optical window assemblies, we are prepared to assume a leadership role in working towards satisfying the optical material challenges addressed in this paper.
Large aperture, high performance sensor windows for new tactical aerospace applications must satisfy a broad spectrum of functional performance requirements. Several design and manufacturing technologies require additional development to achieve low observability, laser hardening, abrasion resistance, environmental resistance, and shared aperture multispectral optical transmission and surface conformality at subsonic and supersonic velocities. The state of development of these technologies is discussed. Specific technology accomplishments are discussed in the areas of low observable window design implantation, diamond and hard carbon abrasion resistant coatings and bond materials, grid and electrically conductive coatings, optical substrate materials, and in-flight optical performance analytical design software. Areas requiring further technology development are also identified and discussed.
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