Why is germanium optics for laser systems Better?

This is not a reality for chalcogenide today, but a current project to develop the technology to recycle chalcogenide glass is underway, with investments from the Defense Production Act (DPA) title-free industrial base policy and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The solution is a few years out, but should ultimately help with chalcogenide adoption. Recycling is not a must today, but 2-3 years down the road, there will be a lot of scrap material and the economies of scale will benefit from recycling.

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The goal is not to fully replace germanium; the goal is to limit our national reliance. &#;Even when I look at our own multispectral camera&#;our Mantis camera works from 2 to 12 µm continuously and color-corrects across this whole range&#;we still need to use one germanium element inside the optical system,&#; Rubin says. &#;We can&#;t get away from it completely, so having some germanium capabilities in the U.S. is important.&#;

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is pretty good at building reserves and retaining scrap inventory, but reserves do run out and eventually there will not be enough scrap. There&#;s also some work being done on mining and, more importantly, refining germanium in the U.S. But it&#;s a nasty process that is very inefficient.

Establishing a comfort level. The raw material or cost of a complete blank can be half as much as a germanium blank&#;but after processing the blank into a lens, the final lens might cost as much as a germanium. It often boils down to the current lack of maturity with chalcogenide.

The lack of maturity in turning a chalcogenide blank into a finished optic is also an obstacle. Optical designers and engineers have decades of experience using germanium, so it is easy to polish and handle germanium and know how it will behave. The result is a natural hesitancy to jump in and use unfamiliar materials.

LightPath teamed up with the DoD, and specifically with the DLA, to try to solve that manufacturing readiness challenge. &#;Historically, chalcogenides have had a bad reputation because immature manufacturing techniques led to inconsistent glass batches,&#; says Rubin. &#;This caused concern their index would be wildly different between batches.&#;

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Demonstrating uniformity. The goal is to show hundreds of production samples&#;not from a few measurements, but hundreds of measurements across numerous production batches in many different environments, temperatures, and conditions. &#;Our objective working with the DLA is to accelerate the acceptance of realistic alternatives,&#; Rubin says. &#;Although there is still some noise, there is currently very consistent data to demonstrate the material&#;s manufacturing readiness at level 9. This is what optical designers need to see.&#;

Addressing uniformity concerns should reduce any hesitation to adopt the material. Two to three decades ago, chalcogenide lenses were often produced in very small batches to guarantee uniformity or did not have good uniformity at all. However, technologies have changed&#;and the proof is in the results.

LightPath is also working with academic partners at University of Rochester to validate the uniformity. Currently, interferometric measurements on 5-in.-diameter slices are showing a uniformity within 0., depending on the wavelength. &#;There&#;s a vision and drive at the DLA to accelerate the adoption curve of this alternative material to ensure manufacturing readiness,&#; Rubin says. &#;The defense industry has such well-defined criteria for technology readiness level (TRL) and manufacturing readiness level (MRL) that we can follow.&#;

Use Germanium's unique combination of high refractive index and excellent hardness to build durable, low-power imaging and laser systems with a minimum component count.

Germanium (Ge) is ideal for applications where ruggedness and durability are important, and Ge optics can withstand optical powers in the range of 50-100 watts. Its high refractive index enables its use as a beamsplitter without additional coating.

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