Cost-Effective Fabrication of Transparent Spinel Domes

Spinel provides a superior combination of optical performance, cost and ease of fabrication when compared to sapphire. Additionally sapphire, suffers from limited size capability, and high component/fabrication costs. Consequently, spinel is a more attractive material for high volume dome applications such as the Joint Common Missile (JCM). However, the extremely aggressive price points sought in the JCM program require substantial cost reduction for finished Spinel domes. In its ongoing phase I, Surmet has already produced a high quality prototype, spinel JCM dome. Surmet's spinel process combines the best practices of its production ALON process with lessons learned during their spinel development effort with Lockheed Martin. In the proposed Phase II effort, Surmet will further refine their processes to produce low cost finished domes. Intermediate scale (~1,000 domes/year rate), production), will be demonstrated and pathways to low cost higher rate (~10,000 domes/year), production will be identified. Surmet will also work closely with the government and its contractors to support the overall JCM program.