Metasurface Filter for Sensor Protection

High-energy laser (HEL) attacks on unprotected EO/IR sensor systems present a major threat for observation platforms. These attacks result in disruption of sensor operation and possibly permanent damage to the optics or detector materials. To address this threat, the team of Plasmonics Inc. and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) propose to develop a new class of counter-HEL (c-HEL) technology based on metamaterial filters. Metamaterial filters are patterned surfaces that demonstrate high optical density (OD) at the HEL band of interest, but allow transmission within the imaging band. Furthermore, these surfaces operate through reflective blocking, not absorption, which allow them to exhibit high damage thresholds.