Alternating Nanostructured Multilayer Optical Limiter

To address the Air Force (AF) need for an optical limiter without focusing lens to provide sufficient attenuation and prevent eye damage at incident radiation levels that would otherwise cause retinal injury, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes in Phase II to continue developing the nonfocal plane Alternating Nanostructured Multilayer Optical Limiter (ANMOL) demonstrated feasible in Phase I.  POC designed the ANMOL structure and fabricated the ANMOL by using molecular beam epitaxy method to coat CdSe/CdTe multilayer films on ZnS substrate.  Testing of the fabricated ANMOL samples confirmed that the Phase I ANMOL has achieved OD of > 4, covering wavelengths of 400 nm to 1400 nm.  Meanwhile, we simulated the ANMOL performances with CdSe/CdTe materials and found that the simulation results were consistent with the test results of the fabricated ANMOL samples.  The ground state luminous transmittance in the visible spectral region exceeded 15%.  The response time of the ANMOL is measured as about 5 ns.  In Phase II, POC will optimize the design of the ANMOL and improve film materials and substrates to fabricate a functional prototype to meet AF need for laser eye protection for combat personnel. BENEFIT: The ANMOL will directly benefit both the military and commercial sectors by offering a nonfocal plane, reduced weight, low-profile, fast-response laser eye protection device covering a wide spectral range throughout the visible to near-infrared region.  Military applications include the Air Force, Army, and Navy, which all have operational requirements for laser eye protection (LEP) for combat personnel.  Commercial applications include potentially any field that requires LEP or uses high-intensity light such as medical laser surgery, dental laser surgery, laser operators, lab technicians, welding, manufacturing, and laser researchers.