In the not too distant future, the military expects to have the capability to use a laser beam to shoot down incoming missiles or even artillery shells.
Thanks to $5.2 million in federal funding announced Wednesday, II-VI Inc., a Butler County-based laser-optics manufacturer, hopes to move forward development of that Star Wars-sounding technology.
It will use the money to produce the materials used in high-powered, solid-state lasers needed by the Department of Defense, said CEO Francis J. Kramer at the company's Clinton headquarters.
"II-VI has a long history of developing advanced materials, and we look forward to the challenges of developing these laser materials," Kramer said.
The company's ceramic Yttrium Aluminum Garnet materials, know as YAG for short, can be configured to produce a high-powered laser light, he explained.
"The Department of Defense is trying to develop a 100-kilowatt laser that can be used to shoot down a shoulder-launched missile," he said. "This material that's being worked on right now is designed to produce a 25-kilowatt laser. When that's done it will be developed into a 100-kilowatt laser in the next phase."
The technology is desirable because it can be used to destroy targets with minimum "collateral damage" in populated areas, said II-VI officials.
"When fighting insurgents and in closely packed areas, you really can't use other ways to try to knock down missiles," Kramer said. "So you need to have something that just knocks down the missile and destroys it. A laser weapon can do that."
There are a number of other so-called "laser-host" materials being developed by others, according to Kramer. However, II-VI believes its ceramic equivalent materials hold the most promise.
"The ceramic process we use is very similar to ceramic processes used throughout the industry to make other items -- anything from porcelain to more technical products," said John Q. Dumm, process development and research engineer. "The difference with our materials is that it is so low in defect count that there is nothing to block the light from coming through."
The company, which employs about 2,500 people, including 550 at its Clinton location, expects about 25 jobs will be created with the help of the federal funding, said James Martinelli, vice president, government and military affairs.
About half of those jobs likely will be added at its Clinton headquarters, with others added at another II-VI facility in the Tampa, Fla., area, he said.
Officials estimated it will take about five years to complete process development.
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