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Visible and IR Transmitting Polymer 1

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Connor-TPS

Connor-TPS

Electrical
Feb 5, 2020
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Does anyone know of specific polymers that can pass visible wavelengths (clear material) as well as IR wavelengths in the range of 7-14 microns.
I have tested both clear acrylic (Plaskolite-OPTIX) and polycarbonate (Plaskolite-TUFFAK) with an IR camera (Fluke) since their FTIR shows some IR frequencies passing in this range (see acrylic FTIR below). However both materials turned out to be very restrictive.

PMME_Acrylic_he6tsd.png
 
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Have a look at a material called Topas. Google will be useful.

Cheers


Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.
 
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I appreciate the lead Pud!
I acquired the transmission characteristics from the manufacturer. Unfortunately the IR spectrum for TOPAS is also very limited in the 7-14 micron range - see below.

TOPAS_IR_Transmission_jbp8jy.png
 
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Your transmission % will drop significantly with thickness as well. The materials in the graphs IRstuff provided are only 10um thick films. What thicknesses are you considering?
 
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I had noticed yes. I will need a thickness significantly larger than this. As this will be applied as a protective window I will likely need the sheet to be 1/4" to 1/2" thick depending on the other characteristics of the polymer.
 
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I am attempting to find a suitable material. As mentioned in the original post, I have tested materials such as PC, acrylic and PETg.
 
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NVM, your wording misled me. I think you should just stick with the usual suspects, like Cleartran and ZnSe

A polymer vis/LWIR material is the holy grail of infrared; unlikely you'd just stumble across it on the internet. Most applications requiring vis/LWIR are sight windows for power boxes or reactors, and protection is in the form of metal meshes or windows

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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In order to be transparent the spacing of the atoms needs to be right. It seems to me that in the jumble of molecules in polymers that it is less likely than in more regular materials to have a uniform transparency across a range. Ref and
Which is why sapphire and germanium are popular IR window materials and I expect that polymers are not.

I am dubious about the IRISS product because the FLIR camera is being used to look through what appears to be an open mesh, but I suppose if the material is thin enough and protected by a sturdy steel frame then it will be transparent enough for very short range measurements.
 
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Polyolefin is about as close as you're going to get- polyethylene has just a few peaks, just like Nujol (paraffin oil used to make "mulls" so you can do IR spectra on salt discs).
 
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