CORRECTED OPTICAL WINDOW FOR MISSILES

THERE HAS BEEN FOR MANY YEARS A DEMONSTRATED NEED FOR AERODYNAMICALLY IMPROVED MISSILE DOME SHAPES OVER THE CONVENTIONAL HEMISPHERICAL SHAPE WHICH RESULTS IN BOTH HEATING AND DRAG. IN ORDER TO VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE ALL OPTICAL IMAGE ABERRATIONS FROM THE DOME, HEMISPHERICAL SHAPED DOMES CONSISTING OF TWO SURFACE WHICH ARE SPHERICAL AND CONCENTRIC TO ONE ANOTHER HAVE BEEN USED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY. TANGENT OGIVES OR SIMILAR DOME SHAPES MAKE THE OPTICAL ABERRATIONS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL OVER ANY FIELD OF VIEW AND/OR FIELD OF REGARD. THIS SBIR PROGRAM WILL GENERATE OPTICAL MEANS FOR CORRECTING THE OPTIAL ABERRATIONS OF AN OGIVE OR SIMILAR AERODYNAMICALLY IMPROVED DOME. WE WILL WORK WITH BOTH THE RECOMMENDED APPROACH OF UTILIZING SANDWICHED MATERIALS OF DIFFERING REFRACTIVE INDEX, AS WELL AS OTHER OPTICAL CORRECTION METHODOLOGIES. THESE OTHER APPROACHES INCLUDE SEPARATE OPTICAL CORRECTORS INTERIOR TO THE DOME (POSSIBLY INTEGRATED WITH THE MISSILE SEEKER OPTICS), THE USE OF BINARY OPTICS TO CORRECT THE OPTICAL ABERRATIONS, GRADIENT INDEX DOME MATERIALS, AND OTHERS. THE DESIGNS WILL BE FOR THE 3-5 UM AND THE 8-12 UM SPECTRAL REGIONS. WHILE THIS IS PRIMARILY AN OPTICAL DESIGN EFFORT, CLOSE COMMUNICATION WITH MATERIAL PRODUCERS WILL BE MAINTAINED.