Description
On-board laser guidance and night-vision/thermal sensing devices for military and other severe environment applications require infrared (IR) transmissive windows for target imaging. These windows, which can vary from flat to dome shaped, are typically constructed from single crystal germanium (Ge) polished to a mirror finish and coated with micron-scale multi-layered thin films to reduce reflection of IR from the front and back surfaces. This results in maximum infrared transmission essential to reliable and high sensitivity night vision or thermal sensing detection. Superior sensitivity enables longer platform stand-off distances, affording a safety margin for the warfighter while at the same time increasing mission stealth effectiveness.

IR window outside surfaces are typically directly exposed to sea, land, and air environments, such as salt water spray, blowing desert sand or ballistic airborne debris. Genvac has the proprietary capability to coat this surface with a hard carbon coating known as diamondlike carbon (DLC). It is a perfect index match (AR coating) to Ge and is regarded as the most anti-abrasive optical coating in existence. DLC is capable of withstanding sea water erosion, surviving sandstorm-like impact, resisting chemical attack, and hard enough to withstand mechanical damage. An IR window equipped with DLC on the outside and high efficiency anti-reflective (HEAR) coatings on the inside will have greater than 90% transmission at a specified wavelength, i.e. it will appear as an "open window" to a laser guidance or night-vision device.

Genvac Aerospace Technology -
Diamondlike Carbon (DLC) Coated
Germanium Windows

Genvac Aerospace has developed a
proprietary DLC multilayer coating with
IR transmission equal to or greater than
any competitive coating used in military
and aerospace applications with the
added benefit of superior adhesion to Ge.
Delamination or erosion, the most common
reason DLC coatings fail, has been
eliminated with our product. This coating
has been applied to IR windows and
installed on Marine Corp. Amphibious
Assault Vehicles for image detection
using a night vision device. The Marine
Corp. window was originally coated with
DLC by a major manufacturer of vehicles
for commercial and military purposes.
This coating delaminated in the field. The Genvac Aerospace coating was determined to be superior.

Genvac Aerospace is capable of producing Long Wave IR windows in any geometry ranging from flat to spherical.The company has recently produced DLC coated Ge hemispherical windows for forward looking infrared systems on US military platforms including the Apache AH-64 helicopter, F18 Raptor, and F15 Fighting Eagle.

Since 2003 Genvac has developed custom infrared coatings from the near infrared to the very far infrared (beyond 30 microns). These coatings have been designed for use with numerous infrared transmissive materials including Ge, Si, ZnS, ZnSe, AMTIR and most recently GASIR.

Genvac welcomes the opportunity to develop highly specialized infrared coatings, including dual-band, multi-band and visible/infrared band coatings.