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US 12,468,073 B2Granted
Method of strengthening an optical element
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsRalph Korenstein, Christopher S. Nordahl
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to various aspects and embodiments, a system and method for providing an optical element is disclosed. In one example, the optical element includes a substrate formed from a Nanocomposite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) material that includes a first oxide nanograin material dispersed in a second oxide nanograin material, and a compressive layer of the NCOC material formed on a surface of the substrate.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- providing an optical substrate formed of a Nanocomposite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) material including a first oxide nanograin material dispersed in a second oxide nanograin material;
- and
- depositing a compressive layer of the NCOC material on a surface of the optical substrate;
- wherein the compressive layer of the NCOC material has a microstructure different than a microstructure of the optical substrate;
- wherein the microstructure of the compressive layer has a columnar polycrystalline grain structure with grain boundaries extending approximately perpendicular to the surface of the optical substrate;
- and
- wherein the grain boundaries have a grain dimension extending away from the optical substrate that is larger than a grain dimension extending along the surface of the optical substrate, and wherein the grain dimension of the grain boundaries extending along the surface of the optical substrate is less than about one tenth of a wavelength of light to be transmitted through the compressive layer.
4 more elements
A method comprising:
- obtaining an optical substrate formed of a Nanocomposite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) material including a first oxide nanograin material dispersed in a second oxide nanograin material;
- and
- depositing a compressive layer of the NCOC material on a surface of the optical substrate;
- wherein the compressive layer of the NCOC material has a microstructure different than a microstructure of the optical substrate;
- wherein the microstructure of the compressive layer has a columnar polycrystalline grain structure with grain boundaries extending approximately perpendicular to the surface of the optical substrate and a grain size that is larger than a grain size of the optical substrate;
- and
- wherein the grain boundaries have a grain dimension extending away from the optical substrate that is larger than a grain dimension extending along the surface of the optical substrate, and wherein the grain dimension of the grain boundaries extending along the surface of the optical substrate is less than about one tenth of a wavelength of light to be transmitted through the compressive layer.
4 more elements
A method for treating a surface of an optical substrate, comprising:
- obtaining an optical substrate formed of a Nanocomposite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) material including a first oxide nanograin material dispersed in a second oxide nanograin material;
- and
- depositing a compressive layer of the NCOC material on a surface of the optical substrate;
- wherein the compressive layer of the NCOC material has a microstructure different than a microstructure of the optical substrate;
- wherein the microstructure of the compressive layer has a columnar polycrystalline grain structure with grain boundaries extending approximately perpendicular to the surface of the optical substrate and a grain dimension that extends along a thickness of the compressive layer;
- and
- wherein the grain boundaries have a grain dimension extending away from the optical substrate that is larger than a grain dimension extending along the surface of the optical substrate, and wherein the grain dimension of the grain boundaries extending along the surface of the optical substrate is less than about one tenth of a wavelength of light to be transmitted through the compressive layer.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.