System and methods for mitigating effects of radiation on composite structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11715574-B2
Application number	US-202117342049-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2021
Priority date	Jun 8, 2021
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

Systems (100) and methods (600) for providing a product with a radiation mitigation feature. The methods comprise: obtaining a composite base layer formed of a fiber-reinforced material; and performing a deposition process to dispose a first coating layer on the composite base layer so as to form the product with a radiation barrier, the first coating layer comprising 35% by mass or less of a metal constituent, at least 65% by mass of a germanium constituent, a zero or substantially zero coating stress, and/or an overall thickness between 2 microns and 8 microns.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for providing a product with a radiation mitigation feature, comprising:
obtaining a composite base layer formed of a fiber-reinforced material; and
performing a deposition process to dispose a first coating layer on the composite base layer so as to form the product with a radiation barrier, the first coating layer comprising 35% by mass or less of a metal constituent, at least 65% by mass of a germanium constituent, a substantially zero coating stress, and an overall thickness between 2 microns and 8 microns.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising disposing a second coating layer that is reflective on the first coating layer.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the product is a mirror and the second coating layer facilitates a reception of light and a reflection of the light.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the first coating layer has substantially no impact on at least one of a reflectivity performance and a coating stress of the second coating layer.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first coating layer provides protection to the composite base layer in environments with a radiation level of 50-2000 mSV.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first coating layer comprises at least one sub-layer of co-deposited germanium and metal.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first coating layers comprise a plurality of alternating germanium sub-layers and metal sub-layers.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of alternating germanium sub-layers and metal sub-layers has a thickness between 2 microns and 8 microns.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein a thickness of each germanium sub-layer is greater than a thickness of each metal sub-layer.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the germanium constituent to the metal constituent is selected to provide a resulting smooth surface.

11. An article of manufacture, comprising:
a composite base layer formed of a fiber-reinforced material; and
a first coating layer disposed on the composite base layer to form a radiation barrier, the first coating layer comprising 35% by mass or less of a metal constituent, at least 65% by mass of a germanium constituent, a substantially zero coating stress, and an overall thickness between 2 microns and 8 microns.

12. The article of manufacture according to claim 11 , further comprising a second coating layer that is reflective and disposed on the first coating layer.

13. The article of manufacture according to claim 12 , wherein the article of manufacture comprises a mirror and the second coating layer facilitates a reception of light and a reflection of the light.

14. The article of manufacture according to claim 13 , wherein the first coating layer has substantially no impact on at least one of a reflectivity performance and a coating stress of the second coating layer.

15. The article of manufacture according to claim 11 , wherein the first coating layer provides protection to the composite base layer in environments with a radiation level of 50-2000 mSV.

16. The article of manufacture according to claim 11 , wherein the first coating layer comprises at least one sub-layer of co-deposited germanium and metal.

17. The article of manufacture according to claim 11 , wherein the first coating layers comprise a plurality of alternating germanium sub-layers and metal sub-layers.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 17 , wherein each of the plurality of alternating germanium sub-layers and metal sub-layers has a thickness between 2 microns and 8 microns.

19. The article of manufacture according to claim 17 , wherein a thickness of each germanium sub-layer is greater than a thickness of each metal sub-layer.

20. The article of manufacture according to claim 11 , wherein a ratio of the germanium constituent to the metal constituent is selected to provide a resulting smooth exterior surface of the article of manufacture.

Assignees

• Eagle Tech Llc

Inventors

• Rommel Monica Lee
• Brooks Janice S

Classifications

• G21F1/08 Primary

  Metals; Alloys; Cermets, i.e. sintered mixtures of ceramics and metals · CPC title

• G02B1/14

  Protective coatings, e.g. hard coatings · CPC title

• G02B23/02

  involving prisms or mirrors (G02B23/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G21F3/00

  Shielding characterised by its physical form, e.g. granules, or shape of the material · CPC title

• G02B5/0808 Primary

  having a single reflecting layer (G02B5/0883, G02B5/0891 take precedence) · CPC title