PASSIVE PROTECTOR OF OPTICAL SENSORS II (PAPOOSE II)

POTOMAC SYNERGETICS, INC. (PSI), A WOMAN-OWNED, SMALL BUSINESS, PROPOSES TO PERFORM THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED TO IMPROVE CONCEPTS, DEVICES AND MECHANISMS THAT OFFER SUBSTANTIAL OCULAR PROTECTION FROM MULTIPLE LASER WAVELENGTHS WITHOUT DEGRADING ESSENTIAL VISUAL PERFORMANCE. ONLY TECHNIQUES THAT ARE ADAPTABLE TO STANDARD SPECTACLE, GOGGLE AND VISOR CONFIGURATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. THE APPROACH TAKEN ON THIS PROGRAM IS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE WORK DONE ON PAPOOSE FOR THE U.S. ARMY LETTERMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE. SINCE THAT TIME, IMPROVEMENTS IN MATERIALS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS NOW REASONABLE TO THINK OF EYE PROTECTION DEVICES THAT RESEMBLE EYEGLASSES. THE FEATURES OF THE PAPOOSE ARE: PASSIVE (NO POWER REQUIRED); NEGLIGIBLE INSERTION LOSS; REFLECTANCE IS POWER DEPENDENT; RELIABILITY AND MAINTAINABLE; AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED (NO SENSOR REQUIRED); WAVELENGTH INDEPENDENT THROUGHOUT THE RANGE OF INTEREST PAPOOSE II ADDS THE FEATURES OF COMPACT AND LIGHTWEIGHT; FAST RISE TIME (<1 NS); LARGE ACCEPTANCE ANGLE; VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED APERATURE, AND LOW COST.