NANOHMICS INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF191-055
NANOHMICS INC — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
- Amount
- $150,000
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Air Force
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- AF191-055
- Solicitation
- 19.1
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- TX
- Period
- 2019-06-20 → 2020-06-20
Description
Ion doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) crystals are commonly used as the gain medium in near-infrared solid-state lasers. These lasers are critical components in target-designator and range-finder systems. AR treatments applied to the YAG output facet can significantly boost NIR power and improve system performance. Nanohmics Inc. is developing a lithography-free method of applying random anti-reflective surface structure (rARSS) treatments to infrared materials. The sub-wavelength surface structures are monolithically etched into the YAG crystal with the desired depth and taper, thereby creating a ‘graded-index’ with near imperfect impedance match to free-space to drastically reduce reflection. The team will demonstrate that its ‘thermodot’-based rARSS technology is a simple and cost-effective method to manufacture broadband (900 – 1100 nm) AR treatments with superior damage thresholds compared to conventional multi-layer dielectric AR coatings.