Abstract

The presentation presents an innovative approach to infrared (IR) sensor window and coolant hardware. The concept involves internal cooling of an advanced diamond film/ silicon window, a technique whose goal is to enhance the aero-optics performance by avoiding the turbulence and optical distortion induced by external film cooling injection. The presentation presents results of detailed thermal, structural, and optical quality analyses conducted to support the window design. The analytical and experimental results obtained to date indicate that the proposed window design can meet the advanced interceptor program requirements. The design will transmit a diffraction limited image under the more stressing flight conditions. Window optical quality measurements indicate that the optical quality is very good. The important findings are summarized in the presentation. The proposed IR window concept provides significant design improvements in terms of reduced coolant subsystem mass and low manufacturing cost.

© 1992 Optical Society of America