Light Weight/High Performance ALON Transparency for Ballistic Protection

Improved protection from hostile environments and ballistic threats is essential for enhanced survivability of the operational forces in low flying conditions. Weight restrictions on aircraft put a severe limitation to the degree of protection that can be provided. Polycrystalline aluminum oxynitride, ALONTM Optical Ceramic, has long been identified as the premier transparent armor material. However, until recently it was expensive and available only in small pieces, which prevented its wide spread use in transparent armor applications. In this effort, Surmet will develop and optimize the performance of light weight ballistic laminates containing layers of ALON, and evaluate the ballistic performance of its lower cost commercial grade CG-ALON. The ability to improve ballistic performance through surface modification of ALON layers and by employing novel laminate constructions will also be evaluated. In Phase I, the fabrication of the ALON transparencies with various degrees of surface finish will be followed by the deposition of Surmet's SixNy coating by Surmet's proprietary plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PA-CVD) technique. Ballistic laminates containing ALON layers will be fabricated, and tested for durability, ballistic resistance and optical properties. Prototype ballistic laminates will be delivered at the end of Phase I for further evaluation.