The US government’s Missile Defense Agency has awarded a $1 million phase two small business innovation research contract to Precision Photonics of Boulder, Colorado for Ion Beam Sputtered (IBS) coatings.
The award will fund an investigation into spectrally unique coatings for Directed Energy (DE) optics for very high power fibres, fibre lasers and laser optics. IBS could become the coating method of choice for high energy laser applications if its combination of durability, high reliability, precision spectral control, and high laser damage threshold are proven for DE.
Nick Traggis, Precision Photonics vice president said, ‘We are pleased to receive this Phase II funding, as it allows us to continue to push the envelope and explore the full capabilities of ion beam sputtering especially in relation to very demanding, directed energy applications.’
Precision Photonics manufactures high power optical components and coatings, targeting applications in telecommunications, defence, aerospace, biomedical and semiconductor manufacturing.
