ANTI-REFLECTIVE WINDOW COATINGS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TASK IS TO DESIGN SPECIALIZED AR COATINGS FOR USE IN STATE-OF-THE-ART MULTI-ELEMENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS. COMPUTER PROGRAMS USING THE LATEST SYNTHESIS TECHNIQUES WILL BE USED AND MERIT FUNCTIONS TAILORED TO OPTIMIZE THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE FOR THE SPECIFIC MISSION CONSIDERED. IN PARTICULAR, AR COATINGS THAT MINIMIZE SPURIOUSREFLECTIONS IN OPTICAL ELEMENTS USED IN STAR SENSING WILL BE DEVELOPED. AN EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON DESIGNS THAT USE MATERIALS THAT ARE STABLE IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS AND THAT DO NOT REQUIRE OVERLY RESTRICTIVE THICKNESS CONTROL ON THE LAYERS. SENSOR RESPONSE, AS WELL AS THE SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE LIGHT SOURCE, WILL BE USEDIN FINDING THE BEST COATINGS. THE COATINGS DESIGNED, USING A VARIETY OF COMPUTER METHODS, WILL BE COMPARED TO ONE ANOTHER AS WELL AS TO MORE GENERAL AR COATINGS CURRENTLY BEING USED. THE MOST PROMISING DESIGNS WILL LATER BE DEPOSITED AND TESTED IN A FOLLOW-UP PROGRAM.