Vapor Deposited Diamond for Passive Infrared Windows in Aggressive Environments

1 Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond for Passive Infrared Windows in Aggressive Environments 

The extreme hardness and abrasion resistance of diamond makes this material an ideal choice for applications in which the optical components are exposed to aggressive environments. The use of diamond for optical elements for infrared seeking missiles and other military uses constitute probably the best examples of this type of application as discussed in more detail in this section. There are, however, a host of other applications in industry outside the military field in which the attributes of diamond optics are of great advantage. These include windows used in the monitoring of chemical reactions, or in the analysis of fluids which contain abrasive components. 

Infrared detector materials are delicate and require protection from the environment by a transparent window. In many military applications this environment can be extremely harsh, such as the environment encountered by a high-speed, heatseeking missile or a tank window exposed to a sandstorm. The damage caused by a high velocity rain drop impact onto a zinc sulphide window [45] is clearly illustrated in Fig. 12. The erosion/impact damage seriously affects the component strength and also the ability to form an acceptable image behind the window. 

In contrast, the longer wavelength infrared (LWIR) band is desirable for imaging cooler bodies (such as the aircraft itself rather than just the hot engines, which can be masked ) and although LWIR detector materials and missile seekers have been 

2 Applications of Diamond Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition 

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