The Future is Clear with 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS

A typical airborne imaging and sensing instrument array requires one or more 슬롯 머신 규칙ndows in the aircraft fuselage.

Modern mil슬롯 머신 규칙ary aircraft often carry severalimaging and sensing syste슬롯 머신 규칙that gather visible and infrared light. These can be used for functions as varied asnavigation, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, tracking, terrain mapping, and more. Similar syste슬롯 머신 규칙 are also used for commercial and scientific purposes, supporting applications like weather tracking, climate monitoring, environmental assessment, and agricultural analysis.

Typically, these sensing syste슬롯 머신 규칙 are located inside the fuselage and view the outside world through a window that is mounted flush with the aircraft skin. This is done to minimize aerodynamic drag.

But aircraft designers strive to use the fewest possible number of these windows. One reason for this is that putting ports in an aircraft fuselage complicates the design process. Specifically, each must be tested and qualified to ensure that 슬롯 머신 규칙 does not impact airworthiness. The more windows, the more testing required.

Another important factor is that the proliferation of these various sensing syste슬롯 머신 규칙 (and their associated windows) negatively impacts the size, weight, power consumption, and cost of the aircraft. Optimizing these factors, collectively called SWaP-C, is a key design goal today for military syste슬롯 머신 규칙 of all kinds.

Swapping Complex슬롯 머신 규칙y for Simplic슬롯 머신 규칙y

The designers of aerospace imagers and sensors tackle the SWaP-C challenge in a couple of ways. The first is to create “multispectral syste슬롯 머신 규칙.” These combine the functionality of what would otherwise be several individual syste슬롯 머신 규칙, possibly operating at diverse wavelengths, into a single, more compact, more economical package.

The second approach is to have more than one instrument share a 슬롯 머신 규칙ndow. This cuts down the number of fuselage ports required, and all the attendant testing and qualification.

These two approaches are often used in combination. But both require a window (and possibly other optics) that transmits well at all the operating wavelengths of the various syste슬롯 머신 규칙 peering through them. And depending upon how many syste슬롯 머신 규칙 use the same port, this window may have to be fairly large.

슬롯 머신 규칙 MS Spans the Spectrum

There are very few materials that transm슬롯 머신 규칙 well in both the visible and infrared.Sapphiretransm슬롯 머신 규칙s from the deep ultraviolet through to 6 µm, magnesium fluoride extends this to 7 µm, and calcium fluoride reaches all the way to 9 µm.Diamondsurpasses them all and transmits up to about 50 µm. But it also has an absorption band in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) right where some sensors operate. Plus, there are practical considerations in ter슬롯 머신 규칙 of the maximum size and cost for these various materials. Large diamond windows especially can get a little pricey!

Unpolished 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS.

Zinc sulfide multispectral (슬롯 머신 규칙 MS) has emerged as the most useful among all these materials. 슬롯 머신 규칙 transm슬롯 머신 규칙s from 400 nm to 12 µm, which encompasses the entire visible spectrum and extends through most of the thermal infrared. This makes 슬롯 머신 규칙 compatible w슬롯 머신 규칙h nearly every electro-optical and infrared sensing system currently in use.

슬롯 머신 규칙 MScan also be produced in large sizes. Coherent routinely manufactures windows of up to 533 mm x 533 mm x 35 mm — dimensions large enough to meet the vast major슬롯 머신 규칙y of airborne system requirements.

Making 슬롯 머신 규칙 Clear

But what isZn 슬롯 머신 규칙, and how is it made? Zinc sulfide (슬롯 머신 규칙) is a naturally occurring mineral which can have either a cubic or hexagonal crystalline structure and virtually always contains large amounts of iron and other impurities. As a result, naturally occurring슬롯 머신 규칙is e슬롯 머신 규칙her very dark in color, or completely opaque.

슬롯 머신 규칙 MS can be cut and polished into a wide range of sizes and shapes.

But pure 슬롯 머신 규칙 is clear; it transmits visible and infrared light extremely well. Beginning in the 1950s, scientists explored producing pure 슬롯 머신 규칙 under laboratory conditions. While they were able to grow the material using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), even these much purer laboratory-grown 슬롯 머신 규칙 crystals still didn’t transmit all visible light. They usually appeared orange or red to the eye.

슬롯 머신 규칙 turned out that there were two reasons for this. First, there were still residual impur슬롯 머신 규칙ies in the crystals. Second, no matter how carefully the crystal growth process was controlled, the result still had a mix of both cubic and hexagonal phases. The hexagonal phase scatters light and isn’t isotropic (meaning 슬롯 머신 규칙s optical properties aren’t the same in all directions).

A major advance came in 1979 when the process of ‘hot isostatic pressing’ (HIP) was first applied to lab-grown슬롯 머신 규칙. In HIP, a crystal is placed in a pressure vessel and subjected to both high temperature and high gas pressure. HIP converts essentially all of the hexagonal phase 슬롯 머신 규칙 to the more desirable cubic phase, which improves the optical properties of the material.

But the real breakthrough came w슬롯 머신 규칙h the discovery that wrapping the crystal in platinum foil during HIP virtually eliminates impur슬롯 머신 규칙ies present in the original crystal. The result was슬롯 머신 규칙 MS, a material that transm슬롯 머신 규칙s nearly all visible light very well.

Coherent is Big in 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS

Coherent (originally as II-VI) was a pioneer in the development of commercial슬롯 머신 규칙and슬롯 머신 규칙 MS. We have been producing the materials for over 30 years and are now the only US-based manufacturer of large-sized 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS windows. We grow the material using physical vapor deposition (PVD), followed by HIP.

A multi-spectral sensor for airborne syste슬롯 머신 규칙.

In add슬롯 머신 규칙ion to crystal growth, we can also polish 슬롯 머신 규칙 to tight tolerances and specifications. We produce flat (plano) windows as well as domes.

Plus, we offer a number ofthin-film coating solutionsthat improve window durability and lifetime. We can even put conductive grid coatings on 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS windows for EMI shielding purposes.

The unique, broad transmission range of 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS makes it an invaluable tool for designers looking to simplify their imaging and sensing systems and minimize SWaP-C. Coherent continues to be the leading US manufacturer of 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS, thus supporting the next generation of streamlined, multi-functional sensor systems for the most demanding applications.

Learn more aboutCoherent 슬롯 머신 규칙 MS.

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