Space Environmental Performance of Optical Coatings on Tedlar

Abstract

A space environment exposure test has been performed on a variety of samples of Cloud White Tedlar with a multi-layer thin-film coating on the surface applied by Optical Coatings Laboratory, Inc. (OCLI) representing potential spacecraft applications. This test was performed to evaluate new coating formulations. The Tedlar coated with the new formulations was compared with previously coated Tedlar material. For the coated Tedlar on foam samples, the Ta205/ZrO2 configuration appeared to per form best and was comparable to the original coating configuration. Tedlar film samples were in general agreement with the foam samples, although all film samples with the new coatings appeared to degrade more than the films with the original coating. Changes in coatings on fused silica were very small. Degradation of the coated Tedlar is apparently due to changes in the Tedlar substrate, not the coating. The advantages in the newer coating configuration could well be in easier fabrication and improved adhesion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 15, 2000
Accession Number
ADA386936

Entities

People

  • J. D. Barrie
  • M. J. Meshishnek
  • W. K. Stuckey

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adhesion
  • Air Force
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemistry
  • Detectors
  • Fabrication
  • Hyperspectral Imagery
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Measurement
  • Microelectromechanical Systems
  • Optical Coatings
  • Optical Materials
  • Solar Radiation
  • Space Systems
  • Spectra

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Surface Coatings Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Space