Military Optics

Reynard Corporation prides itself in their engineering talent, manufacturing expertise, in-house fabrication capabilities, and optical design software, allowing this combination to support a wide range of build-to-print optical specifications. Such customers include: Textron, US Air force, Missile Tracking, and Infrared Technology. Reynard Corporation is proud to be a leading global supplier of military optics.  With over 30 years of experience, superb engineering talent, manufacturing expertise, in-house fabrication capabilities, and state-of-the-art optical design software, we have been called upon time after time to meet critical needs in military applications for precision optical components. The field of precision Infrared (IR) and FAR Infrared (FIR) military optics has in particular been a source of pride and achievement for Reynard Corporation.

Some Examples of Reynard's Military Optics:

• Sapphire Windows: Reynard has coated sapphire windows used in the F-16's Integrated Forward-Looking Infrared and Targeting System (IFTS). The durability and performance of these windows is a crucial element of this state-of-the-art military system.

• Photolithographic Patterns: Our photolithographic department produces patterns down to a few microns in size, and military applications for this technology include small covert infrared (IR) filters, colored gun sights and small alignment patterns for range finding.

• Laser Protection: Reynard's Laser Protection coatings and filters are employed in military applications to block laser wavelengths from reaching and damaging soldier's eyes, as for example in military binoculars.

• Thin Film Filter Coatings: Reynard has also provided precisely engineered optical filters effective in the Infrared (IR) and Far Infrared wavelengths for critical military applications demanding the identification of specific signatures, as for example the trails of missiles.

• Heated Windows: We have also taken pride in providing vital heated windows for the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) submunitions. This is a weapon designed to attack multiple targets when deployed at altitudes ranging from 200 to 40,000 feet.

Military Optics - Fabrication Capabilities:

Reynard commonly works with the following materials (or the customer can specify another, including a material furnished by the customer):

• Germanium (GE)
• Zinc Selenide (ZnSe)
• Zinc Sulfide (ZnS)
• Sapphire (Al2O3)
• Fused Silica (SiO2)
• Borosilicate Crown Glass (BK-7)
• Calcium Fluoride (CaF2)
• Magnesium Fluoride (MgF2)
• Silicon (Si)
• Alon
• KRS5 ( Thallium Bromo-Iodide)

Reynard's fabrication department has three 48" and a 96" Continuous Polishing Lap (CP) polisher for massive optical fabrication elements and 2 Haas CNC mills for production items. Our capabilities include Cutting (diamond saw cutting for parts from less than one millimeter to over six feet in diameter); Grinding (for parts from less than one millimeter to over three feet); Polishing (equipment capable of producing 1/20 wave elements on part sizes over three feet in diameter); Edging (to an accuracy of a few ten thousandths of an inch on mirrors and windows); Beveling (bevels down to a few thousandths of an inch); Core Drilling and Shaping.

Military Optics – Coating Services:

Reynard Corporation provides an extensive range of custom thin film coating services for military optical components including anti reflection coatings (AR), conductive coatings,metallic coatings and dielectric coatings. Thin film coatings are extremely thin layers of materials (such as dielectric, gold and aluminum), which can be applied to the surface of a substrate like glass, metal or germanium, to effect a change in its optical properties. Effects such as reflection, refraction, anti reflection and conductivity can be produced and modified by expert design of the number of layers and the respective thicknesses of the thin film coatings in relation to the incidental wavelengths of light.

Our thin film coating facility has 21 vacuum chambers, ranging from an 18" bell jar to a 54" fully automatic box coater, all in a 4000 square foot Class 1000 clean room. Processes include electron beam, ion-assisted and resistance source deposition. We have the capability to coat virtually any size and shape up to and including substrates 50" in diameter.

Custom coated filters which Reynard designs and manufactures include Longwave Pass (LWP), Shortwave Pass (SWP) Color Separation or Dichroic, Trichroic, Multi-band, Attenuation and Anti Reflection (AR). Reynard is expert at providing custom coatings for a vast range of applications in the UV (ultraviolet), Visible, Infrared (IR) and Far Infrared (FIR) bands.

Military specifications relevant to a range of coatings that Reynard can implement include:

• MIL-C-675: Specifies that a coating will not show degradation to the naked eye after 20 strokes with a rubber pumice eraser. Coatings meeting MIL-C-675 can be cleaned repeatedly and survive moderate to severe handling.

• MIL-M-13508: Sets the durability standards for metallic coatings. Coatings will not peel away from the substrate when pulled with the cellophane tape. Further, no visible damage to the naked eye will appear after 50 strokes with a dry cheesecloth pad. Gentle, non-abrasive cleaning is advised.

• MIL-C-14806: Specifies durability of surfaces under environmental stress. Coatings are tested at high humidity or in brine solutions to determine resistance to chemical attack. These coatings can survive in humid or vapor filled areas.

Military Optics - Photolithography:

Reynard Corporation can produce custom photolithographic patterns for military optical components. Patterns as small as 8 microns in size can be produced on substrates up to 14" in diameter. These photolithographic patterns can be made from such dielectric coating materials as Quartz, Titanium Dioxide and Sapphire along with standard metallic materials like Chrome, Gold and Aluminum. Photolithographic patterns are used for such applications as: small covert IR (infrared) filters, colored gun sights, small alignment patterns for range finding, as well as optical targets, quality control patterns, encoder disks, pin holes, optical slits, angle measuring devices and comparison filters.

Inspection and Quality Control: All parts are inspected by our careful quality control inspectors. Reynard operates per Military Specification Mil-I-45208A. From incoming shipments to final inspection, the quality of material received and shipped to our customers is measured and recorded. Our quality control manager reports directly to the President of Reynard Corporation. Equipment used by our inspectors includes:

• Salt Fog Tester
• Perkin Elmer 1710 IR Spectrometer
• Perkin Elmer 9 Spectrometer (UV-VIS-NIR)
• Unitron Tool Makers Microscope
• A G Heinze Precision Microscope with CRT read out
• Thermotron Temp/Humidity Chamber
• Blue M Temperature Humidity Chambers
• Nikon Autocollimators
• Zygo GPI Interferometers
• Optical Density Test Equipment
• Fizeau Interferometers

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Reynard Corporation operates per Military Specification Mil-I-45208A.