Additive Manufacture of Thermal Infrared Optical Materials

An effort is proposed to develop an advanced optical material technology platform for fabricating and repairing military thermal-infrared lenses. The initiative addresses critical challenges in the production of infrared optics, including specific processing requirements and the need for unique materials and addresses the complexities in maintaining and repairing these systems, especially due to proprietary manufacturing techniques. The project focuses on the on-demand fabrication of bespoke inorganic optical materials through a programmable multi-material additive manufacturing (AM) process. The proposed method diverges from traditional glass melting techniques by using digital fluidic multiplexing of nanocomposite materials, each with unique refractive index spectra, to create specific digital alloy materials with precise optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Phase I of the project successfully demonstrated the ability to program refractive index spectra of nanocomposite materials and establish a baseline process for fabricating these materials. Phase II will enhance coordination chemistries and assembly processes, focusing on augmenting nanoparticles with reactive molecular additives to form uniform, defect-free optical lattices. Phase II will also include the rigorous characterization, reliability analysis, and environmental testing required to advance the readiness levels of the innovation.