Wide-Bandwidth, High-Transmission RAR Nano-Textured Windows For High Energy Physics Research

24 October 2024

Large area windows with high transmission for light at wavelengths ranging from the deep UV through the near infrared, are critical for developing next generation fusion energy systems[1,2], as well as for quantum computing research[3], and high energy laser development[4]. TelAztec’s patented Random Anti-Reflective (RAR) plasma process creates durable, nanometer-scale structures packed in a dense texture directly in the surface of such critical optics, yielding maximum transmission, wide field of view, and long-term reliability. No other anti-reflection technology (such as conventional thin-film interference AR coatings) can come close to the performance and stability provided by RAR Nano-Texturing.

The image above shows TelAztec COO Stephen Consoles holding an 8-inch square, 1-inch thick fused silica window with RAR Nano-Texturing over the central 6.75-inch square area. Reflections are completely eliminated for visible and near infrared light yielding high clarity relative to the ~ 8% reflection of the laboratory lighting off of the original polished surface around the perimeter. The typical nano-textured surface structures are revealed by the inset image magnified 30,000 times.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[2], had the window fabricated for the ELI Beamlines Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC facility[5] in the Czech Republic. As part of a imaging diagnostics system in the plasma and laser physics laboratory, the windows required the wide bandwidth and durability provided by RAR nano-texturing. In the following figures we show the measured spectral reflection loss from the windows over the 400-1000nm wavelength range. Total on-axis reflection loss is below 0.01%! ELI Beamlines shared images of the unboxing of the windows in their clean room facility, and later installed in their system and already hard at work observing a high energy plasma.