Review of Navy Program to Develop Optical Quality Diamond Windows and Domes

摘要

From 1989 to 2000, the U,S. Navy sponsored research and exploratory development programs to make optical quality chemical vapor deposited diamond and to learn its properties. This paper recounts the development of optical quality diamond and discusses the properties and fabrication capabilities that were achieved. In the year 2002, there exists a commercial capability for optical quality diamond, but the price keeps it out of the hands of all but a few potential users.