Advanced Conductive-Polymer Based Antistatic Coating for Aircraft Canopy and Window Transparencies

Crosslink proposes to develop a two-layer protective coating system for the protection of aircraft canopies and transparencies that meets the Air Force requirements for electrical and optical performance, durability, adhesion, and light transmission. The Crosslink system will utilize an organic polymer composition for each layer – an approach that promotes good adhesion, thermal stability, mechanical strength, and toughness. Crosslink’s technological innovation involves the use of conductive, transparent coatings based on newly-developed ICP materials and processing methods, and Crosslink will build upon its existing expertise in the development, manufacture, and sale of ICP-based transparent coatings for electronics and avionics applications. The outer coating layer, which affords abrasion resistance and chemical resistance, will be designed for ultraviolet (UV) curing so that high temperature processing is not required. The inner, or bottom, coating layer will serve as a grounding plane to prevent excessive electrostatic charge from accumulating on the canopy surface as a result of precipitation static. This approach is expected to enable the fabrication of low cost, easy-to-apply, transparent conductive coatings that are also compatible with field repair processes. BENEFIT: Crosslink presents a novel approach for the fabrication of durable, antistatic coatings as a solution for precipitation static which limits the life of current canopy coatings. Crosslink’s technological innovation involves the use of conductive, transparent coatings based on newly-developed ICP materials and processing methods, and Crosslink will build upon its existing expertise in the development, manufacture, and sale of ICP-based transparent coatings for electronics and avionics applications. The Crosslink program is expected to yield a prototype protective coating system suitable for optimization into a product for use on both military and commercial aircraft transparency structures. Crosslink has a successful, 10 year history as a developer and manufacturer of highly functional, thin-film conductive polymer materials for electroluminescent displays, ESD coatings, energy storage devices and sensors. The components of the new protective coating system are also expected to find applications in these products, for example, as anti-scratch and anti-static coatings for display surfaces and photovoltaic devices. Accordingly, Crosslink plans to derive and commercialize coating products for device applications from the technology developed here after completion of the program.