Recent developments in spinel at NRL (Conference Presentation)

Transparent magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4) ceramic has excellent transmission from the UV to mid-wave IR. It is rugged with strength that is 5x that of glass. Spinel also has better IR transmission compared to sapphire and ALON. Because of its superior mechanical and optical properties, it is considered as a sensor window for numerous military platforms. At the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), we have focused on process developments to facilitate wider acceptance of spinel for various applications. These developments include purification of spinel to reduce the absorption and scattering losses, as well as new processes to make conformal spinel windows and also to reduce manufacturing and finishing costs. In this presentation, we will provide an update on all the spinel activities at NRL