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Low absorption magnesium aluminate spinel windows for high energy laser applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2014

Guillermo Villalobos*
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5620, Washington DC 20375, USA
Shyam Bayya
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5620, Washington DC 20375, USA
Woohong Kim
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5620, Washington DC 20375, USA
Colin Baker
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5620, Washington DC 20375, USA
Jas Sanghera
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5620, Washington DC 20375, USA
Michael Hunt
Affiliation:
University Research Foundation, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770, USA
Bryan Sadowski
Affiliation:
Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc., Maryland 20701, USA
Fritz Miklos
Affiliation:
Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc., Maryland 20701, USA
Ishwar Aggarwal
Affiliation:
Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc., Maryland 20701, USA
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: guillermo.villalobos@nrl.navy.mil
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Abstract

High energy laser (HEL) systems are currently being evaluated for various land, sea, and air based platforms. Some of these systems operate in or have to withstand harsh environment of sand storm, hurricane, and rain. The exit aperture on a HEL system operating in harsh environment can become the single point of failure. Current HEL systems operating in 1–2 µm wavelength use fused silica windows which are at risk of damage in the theater. Rugged window materials such as sapphire, ALON, and spinel are currently being evaluated as a potential replacement. One of the major parameters in window selection apart from its ruggedness is its absorption loss coefficient at laser wavelength. This paper reports on 3 different methods to reduce absorption loss in spinel ceramic from 100,000 ppm/cm down to 75 ppm/cm. The results are compared with ALON and sapphire.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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References

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