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    Transparent ALON Windows are Currently Being Evaluated for Use in Many Laser Applications

    Transparent ALON Windows are Currently Being Evaluated for Use in Many Laser ApplicationsJuly 31, 2012ALON has been succesfully tested for durability in harsh environments and is being evaluated for performance in many airborne laser based systems. ALON® Transparencies offer unique high optical performance required for laser systems, combined with the EXTREME durability that makes them nearly impervious to the environmental loading found in the flight environments such as rain, rock strikes and sand or dust storms.

    Advances in Making Large ALON® Transparent Armor Windows

    Advances in Making Large ALON® Transparent Armor WindowsJune 30, 2012Surmet continues its advances in fabricating cost effective large area ALON® Transparent Armor Windows for many applications. Current capability allows for monolithic ALON® windows to be fabricated in sizes as large as 15x27-in (38cm x 68.5cm) with plans for making windows of even larger sizes. "ALON® Optical Ceramic also has the unique advantage of being made in thicknesses varying from 0.2 to 1.5-in to meet the required ballistic performance," says Uday Kashalikar, Director of Armor Products at Surmet Corp.

    Surmet Expands ALON® Production Capabilities to Meet Growing Demand

    Surmet Expands ALON® Production Capabilities to Meet Growing DemandMay 31, 2012“Because of its amazing properties and ease of manufacture, ALON® Transparent Armor is seeing a strong increase in the demand from both Defense and Civilian sectors” says Uday Kashalikar, Director of Armor Products at Surmet Corp. “This demand coincides well with our current expansion in both ALON® powder production and blank making operations” he added. To see ALON® Transparent Armor in action, click the following link: "How Stuff Works" Video about ALON® Transparent Armor

    The Successful Demonstration of the Bonding of Metal to ALON® Optical Ceramic Creates many New Opportunities in Critical Applications that Include Oil and Gas Drilling

    The Successful Demonstration of the Bonding of Metal to ALON® Optical Ceramic Creates many New Opportunities in Critical Applications that Include Oil and Gas DrillingMarch 31, 2012Conventional metalizing and brazing techniques used for Alumina and sapphire are not directly applicable to ALON. However, Surmet has now successfully demonstrated a novel metalizing technique that results in hermetic brazed joints with high strength and durability while preserving ALON’s optical, IR and RF transparency. Mechanical integrity of the braze joint is maintained over a wide range of temperatures. This is a significant development as it enables materials and engineering challenges to be addressed in such applications as: sensor housings, windows for harsh chemical and windows for high pressure/temperature environments. The bonding of ALON to engineering metals and alloys such as Kovar, Hexalloy, Stainless steel, Niobium and Molybdenum is now possible.

    Surmet Corporation Enters 30th Year of Operations with Many Significant Accomplishments

    Surmet Corporation Enters 30th Year of Operations with Many Significant AccomplishmentsFebruary 29, 2012Surmet was founded in 1982 on a simple premise that today’s materials are not adequate to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s machines and systems. Surmet, entering its thirtieth year of successful operation with a nice balance between R&D and Manufacturing, is a rarity among technology companies, to successfully transition it’s laboratory innovations to the production floor and deliver cost effective high performance products to its global customers.

    Scanning Electron Microscopy of Fracture Reveals Significant Grain Boundary Weakness in Lithium Fluoride Doped, Vacuum Hot Pressed and HIPped Transparent Magnesia Spinel.

    Scanning Electron Microscopy of Fracture Reveals Significant Grain Boundary Weakness in Lithium Fluoride Doped, Vacuum Hot Pressed and HIPped Transparent Magnesia Spinel.January 31, 2012Polycrystalline ceramics with cubic Spinel structure transmit well in the visible and mid IR wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. ALON® and Magnesia Spinel are especially attractive and are leading lightweight transparent Armor candidates for future combat systems. These have enormous performance advantage over glass and justify their rapid development.

    Army's SBIR Phase I Award to Boost Surmet's Lower Cost Fabrication of IR Optics from ALON® and Spinel Ceramics

    Army's SBIR Phase I Award to Boost Surmet's Lower Cost Fabrication of IR Optics from ALON® and Spinel CeramicsDecember 29, 2011A new Phase I SBIR award from the Army provides a boost to Surmet’s cost effective manufacturing of ALON® and spinel Optical Ceramics. The outcome of this program entitled, "Quantitative Analysis of ALON® and Spinel Dome Blanks", will result in a fast and cost effective method for optically characterizing dome blanks without having to fabricate them to their final exacting dimensions.

    Transparent ALON® Optical Ceramic to the Rescue

    Transparent ALON® Optical Ceramic to the RescueAugust 29, 2011The commercial availability of exciting new optically transparent ALON® Optical Ceramic, couldn’t have come at a better time for many critical applications, as large quantities of sapphire are being diverted to the clean energy lighting market. Customers of sapphire, who are left high and dry, now have a ‘preferred’ alternative. ALON® will meet or beat performance specifications of sapphire in most applications, and unlike sapphire, it is immediately available for your use.