NOVEL PROCESSIBLE CONDUCTING POLYMER BASED VISIBLE AND IR TRANSMISSIVE OPTICAL WINDOW MATERIALS

DDRESSING THE NEED FOR HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE, IR AND VISIBLE TRANSPARENT OPTICAL WINDOW MATERIALS, THE PROPOSED WORK SEEKS TO USE NOVEL SOLUBLE CONDUCTING POLYMERS DEVELOPED IN THESE LABORATORIES IN UNRELATED WORK WHICH HAVE DEMONSTRATED HIGH TRANSPARENCY ACROSS THE VISIBLE AND MUCH OF THE IR REGIONS (DATA QUOTED HEREIN). THESE POLYMERS HAVE CONDUCTIVITIES UP TO 10 OHMS/SQUARE, THERMAL STABILITIES TO 350XC, THEIR REPROCESSED (RECAST) FILMS HAVE PROPERTIES IDENTICAL TO VIRGIN FILMS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEIR TRANSPARENCIES ARE CONTROLLABLE VIA DOPING LEVEL AND OTHER PARAMETERS. THE APPROACH PROPOSED WILL INVESTIGATE TWO METHODS OF USING THESE POLYMERS AS LAMINATES MOULDED UNDER HIGH PRESSURE, WHICH PRIOR UNRELATED WORK HAS CONFIRMED HAVE GOOD DURABILITY, AND AS CONDUCTIVE COATINGS ON TRANSPARENT SUBSTRATES. ADVANTAGES OVER COMPETING TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDE WIDE-BAND APPLICABILITY ACROSS THE VISIBLE AND IR REGIONS, PROCESSIBILITY AND MOULDABILITY INTO LARGE AREAS OR ODD SHAPES, AND LOW COST, WITH PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES FOR COATINGS BEING $0.75/SQUARE FOOT AND FOR MOULDED MATERIALS BEING $5.00/SQUARE FOOT. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - IF THE TECHNOLOGY IS SUCCESSFUL, BESIDES THE PRESENT APPLICATIONS FOR CONDUCTIVE, IR AND VISIBLE TRANSMISSIVE MATERIALS, OTHER APPLICATIONS INCLUDE WHEREVER CONDUCTIVE COATINGS ARE NEEDED, E.G. RADAR SIGNATURE CONTROL, IR, VISIBLE EMISSIVITY AND SIGNATURE CONTROL, PHOTOCHROMIC DISPLAYS, ELECTRODE BATTERIES. SINCE THE NEW POLYMERS HAVE APPRECIABLE NONLINEAR OPTICAL EFFECTS, ELECTRO-OPTIC SWITCHES ARE ALSO AN APPLICATION.