DIAMOND WAVEGUIDES FOR THE LONG WAVELENGTH INFRARED

IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE TO FABRICATE LONG WAVELENGTH INFRARED (LWIR) OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS TO AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE TARGET DETECTION SYSTEMS. NO MATERIAL IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WHICH HAS THE COMBINATION OF STRENGTH, STABILITY, AND LWIR TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED BY THE APPLICATION. DIAMOND FILMS, DEPOSITEDBY RECENTLY DEVELOPED PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (CVD) TECHNOLOGY, OFFER A NEW MATERIAL WITH PROPERTIES GREATLY SUPERIOR TO THOSE OF OTHER LWIR MATERIALS. WE WILL FABRICATE DIAMOND WAVEGUIDES AND PERFORM TRANSMISSION MEASUREMENTS AT 10.6UM TO ASSESS FEASIBILITY OF USING DIAMOND LWIR WAVEGUIDES IN ADVANCED AIR-TO-AIR MISSILES AND OTHER INTERCEPTOR TECHNOLOGIES WITH MORE SEVERE ACCELERATION REQUIREMENTS.