OCULAR PROTECTION AGAINST BATTLEFIELD LASERS

POTOMAC SYNERGETICS,, INC. (PSI), A WOMAN-OWNED, SMALL BUSINESS, PROPOSES TO ANALYZE VARIOUS APPROACHES AND IDENTIFY THE MOST PROMISING APPROACH FOR PROTECTING PERSONNEL AGAINST BATTLEFIELD LASERS. PSI PROPOSES TO RESTRICT ITS STUDY TO LIQUID CRYSTALS AND POLYMERS FOR REASONS GIVEN IN THE TEXT. THESE MATERIALS ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT OFFER A REALISTIC HOPE OF PROVIDING PERSONNEL WITH SOMETHING RESEMBLING EYEGLASSES THAT WILL PROTECT PERSONNEL FOR LASER RADIATION. THE APPROACH TAKEN ON THIS PROGRAM IS AN EXTENSION OF THE WORK DONE ON TWO SBIR CONTRACTS, PASSIVE PROTECTION OF OPTICAL SENSORS (PAPOOSE) AND PAPOOSE II FOR THE U.S. ARMY LETTERMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE. SINCE THE TIMNE OF THE PAPOOSE CONTRACT, IMPROVEMENTS IN MATERIALS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS NOW REASONABLE TO THINK OF EYE PROTECTION DEVICES THAT RESEMBLE EYEGLASSES. ON PAPOOSE II, WHICH IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS, THIN-FILM POLYMERS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING TESTED. IF THESE MATERIALS CAN DEMONSTRATE TO OD THAT THE DARPA REQUIRES, THE PROTECTIVE DEVICES RESEMBLING EYEGLASSES COULD BE FABRICATED. THE FEATURES OF THE PAPOOSE ARE: PASSIVE (NO POWER REQUIRED); NEGLIGIBLE INSERTION LOSS; REFLECTANCE IS POWER DEPENDENT; RELIABLE AND MAINTAINABLE; AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED (NO SENSOR REQUIRED); WAVELENGTH INDEPENDENT THROUGHOUT THE RANGE OF INTEREST; FAST RISE TIME (1 NS); LARGE ACCEPTANCE ANGLE; LOW COST, AND VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED APERTURE.