Laser attacks on aircraft have become a prevalent occurrence over recent years, and present significant challenges to pilots of commercial, military and private aircraft during critical stages of flight. These attacks are seen as a distraction, cause flash blindness, or result in permanent eye damage, endangering the lives of the pilot and crew. Previous work has shown to provide incomplete performance as wavelength dependencies limit the effectiveness of the system. In an effort to move past a wavelength dependent solution, this work focused on taking advantage of the polarization and absorbance properties of liquid crystal (LC) technologies to block intruding laser light. In the creation of a cell, the surface of Indium tin oxide was prepared via controlled polishing, influencing the LC to align in a planar orientation when applied voltage creates an electric field within the cell. As laser light permeates the LC, its power is reduced via the following dissipation pathways; absorption of the laser’s energy, scattering of the laser light when in crystal phase, and an interaction with linearly polarized light. If polarization of the laser and LC are parallel, the LC relies on the ability to reflect light in crystal phase. If these polarizations are perpendicular, roughly 90% of the lasers power is blocked regardless of wavelength. The only observable wavelength dependencies are more efficient blocking against wavelengths the respective LC absorbs. This study seeks to analyze how blocking efficiency is impacted by the molecular structure of varying LC’s.

Analyzing molecular structure of liquid crystals to develop wavelength independent films to mitigate laser attacks on aircraft

2019 Spring National Meeting

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