Polycrystalline optical window materials from nanoceramics

US7148480B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Regents of the University of California · US

Inventors

• Guodong Zhan · Spring, US
• Amiya K. Mukherjee · Davis, US
• Subhash H. Risbud · Urbana, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 14, 2004
• Grant date: Dec 12, 2006
• Expiry date: Mar 14, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01J5/046
• WIPO field: Materials, metallurgy
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Optical windows for protecting infrared sensing instruments are manufactured from nano-sized crystallites by compressing the crystallites into a continuous mass under high pressure in the presence of a pulsed electric current, preferably one produced by spark plasma sintering. The resulting materials have excellent optical and mechanical properties that make them favorable as replacements for the conventional single-crystal sapphire.