The aerospace market is a constantly forward-looking one, with new technologies being employed in everything from the latest commercial jetliners and advanced fighter jets to next generation missile systems. For virtually all of these platforms, advanced ceramics play a key role for a number of on-board systems and components. Some of the key areas that CeraNova is focused on in support of advanced aerospace platforms include:

Advanced Optical Domes

CeraNova has developed and continues to improve innovative and cost-effective manufacturing processes for spherical and aspheric components made from transparent ceramics. These include hemispherical domes for legacy missile systems as well as aerodynamic dome geometries for next-generation platforms. These new irregular geometries require innovative manufacturing and metrology methods to meet performance, quality, and durability requirements, while keep manufacturing costs competitive.

Conformal Optical Windows

The advanced optical ceramic materials developed by CeraNova provide high strength, abrasion resistance, and extended operating temperature range for a wide range of next-generation aerospace and defense systems. For applications requiring transparency in the UV-Vis-MWIR range, CeraNova manufactures ceramic windows from materials such as polycrystalline alumina, magnesium aluminate spinel, and yttrium oxide. CeraNova’s near net shape processing technologies enable unique component designs for products that can be used in a variety of laser-guided systems and visible/infrared detection systems.

Many other defense-related areas also depend increasingly on advanced ceramics to provide the functionality and superior performance needed for the most demanding applications in areas such as personnel protection, “smart” vehicle drive components, and high-performance communication systems. Some of the particular areas that CeraNova has contributed to include:

Transparent Armor

CeraNova is developing proprietary high-strength spinel materials for advanced transparent armor applications. CeraNova’s spinel outperforms the competition in terms of strength and hardness, enabling system weight reduction, while providing improved optical performance and excellent abrasion resistance.

Active Vibration Control

Advanced piezoceramic materials and components developed by CeraNova have been used for active vibration control and noise cancellation. CeraNova’s proprietary extrusion and densification methods produce monofilament fibers that can conform to different shapes and have excellent dimensional uniformity.

Advanced Antennas

CeraNova has developed proprietary processes for manufacturing high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire and coils made from yttrium-barium-copper oxide (YBCO) material for superconducting antenna applications. CeraNova’s melt-textured, highly grain-aligned YBCO products have been successfully deployed on NASA space vehicles.