Increasingly missions are turning to EO/IR operation requiring windows with large spectral bandpass. This large bandpass coupled with the size of the required window substrates has necessarily limited the choice of materials. Calcium Flouride is generally chosen, however it has the undesirable property that it tends to scratch quite easily. In this proposal we will discuss a proprietary method of manufacturing large POD windows made from Sapphire Substrates which are much harder while simultaneously offering equivalent or better optical performance. The result of the research discussed here will be the routine production of far superior windows leading to much longer field lifetimes and lower program cost. Benefit The technology discussed in this proposal has many far-reaching applications. The first of course is for military applications where a large size, wide spectral bandwidth window is required for a variety of imaging and designating applications. However, there are other applications where the polishing techniques can be applied such as in the production of sapphire substrates for usage in semiconductor applications. There are also applications for rapid surface preparation for consumer goods such as supermarket windows. COI and its partners are well placed to take advantage of these various opportunities.
Keywords Pod, EO/IR, Sapphire, Multi-spectral, window
