[ATM] ALON optical ceramic

[Paul A. Valleli]

Yes, Bill,
ALON has been used for defense applications for many
years as a substitute for Sapphire, which has tricky
transmission/polarization problems .
Both minimize the problem of sandblasting during
desert operations and high speed rain erosion.
Right now there are size limitations but I expect
that issue will go away - just a matter of $$$$ -
same for Sapphire.

I have never heard of it being referred to as a
'ceramic'. The bulk material is optically clear.

I expect that we will soon see similar applications
with Synthetic Diamond.
Starman Paul

---- Original message ----

  Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:06:01 -0500
  From: William Lee <wjl12 at comcast.net>
  Subject: [ATM] ALON optical ceramic
  To: "atm at atmlist.net List" <atm at atmlist.net>
  >I just saw ALON (Aluminum Oxy Nitride) on the
  Make site
  (http://blog.makezine.com/2012/01/17/transparent-aluminum/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+makezineonline+%28MAKE%29&utm_content=FaceBook)>>It's
  fascinating stuff, a powder that can be molded,
  then heated. It comes out hazy and has to be
  physically polished. But according to the spec
  sheet
  (http://www.surmet.com/pdfs/Surmet%20Optical%20Ceramics%20Brochure.pdf)
  shows it's stiffer than beryllium and almost as
  hard as silicon carbide. Good transparency from
  near-UV to IR. But expensive.>>Has anyone ever
  heard of this? Or used this professionally? (Hint,
  hint, starman
  Paul.)>_______________________________________________>ATM
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