WINDOWS AND MISSILE DOMES MADE FROM SPINEL & ALON® ARMOR MATERIALS

A line of spinel and ALON® optics for a wide range of missile, drone, and night vision system applications requiring a durable and chemical-resistant material has been introduced by Meller Optics, Inc. of Providence, RI

Meller Spinel and ALON® Optics provide a solution to glass because they are transparent in spectral regions where glass is opaque, are about 10X more abrasion-resistant, offer superior chemical-resistance, and excellent transmission in the UV through MWIR. Manufactured using powder processing techniques, these optical ceramics can be produced in large sizes and complex shapes and retain up to 75% of their strength at 1,000ºC.

Optically isotropic which eliminates birefringence effects, Meller Spinel and ALON® Optics are available in sizes up to 18” x 35” in production quantities. Spinel and ALON® Optics exhibit 1650 and 1870 Knoop hardness and up 70-300 and 300-700 MPa strength respectively. They can be finished with < 60-40 scratch-dig surface quality, < 1 fringe flatness at 633 nm, < 1 arc-min parallelism, and polished bevel on two sides.

Meller Spinel and ALON® Optics are priced according to material, configuration, and quantity. Meller Optics, Inc. will be exhibiting at Photonics West in San Francisco, Booth #1640 on Jan. 28 – Feb. 2, 2023.