Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Morgan Advanced Ceramics
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 February 2007
NASA buys ceramic insulators
The use of ceramic in the NASA's OWL eyes will allow an accurate image of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays to be generated
Ceramic component manufacturer, Morgan Advanced Ceramics, has secured a contract with Photek to supply hexagonal ceramic insulators for intensifiers used in NASA's OWL mission OWL is the world's first earth-orbiting system designed to study air showers initiated by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR)
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 22 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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NASA's OWL mission required high-precision, dimensionally accurate ceramic components.
"We were looking for a partner that would be able to supply the high-precision, dimensionally accurate ceramic components that are fundamental to the intensifier", says Gareth Jones, Managing Director, Photek.
"We chose Morgan Advanced Ceramics for its knowledge and expertise in the industry and proven precision engineering capability".
Ceramic was an ideal choice of material for the intensifiers for its electrical and mechanical properties.
Ceramic is a good electrical insulator which is an important characteristic for the intensifiers.
In an intensifier a lens focuses an image into a vacuum tube, which is made of ceramic, and a photocathode at one end releases electrons by the photoelectric effect of the incoming photons.
"There was an immediate challenge surrounding the design of the component", says Yannick Galais, Commercial Manager, Morgan Advanced Ceramics.
"During the manufacturing process the component is fired in a kiln and it shrinks by around 20% in size as it is sintered".
"Tight control of raw material production and the methods used to manufacture the part are essential to ensure that it shrinks evenly in all directions without distortion and cracking".
The accuracy of the component is paramount.
Galais continues: "We also had to achieve an extremely tight tolerance of five microns".
The two companies together came up with a unique 168mm across, flat, hexagonal design that enables the intensifiers to fit together easily in a honey comb style, for maximum collection of UV light.
Morgan Advanced Ceramics has shipped three pairs of the component to Photek, where they have been assembled and taken to Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, for testing prior to installation.
OWL is due for launch in 2010 and the project is expected to need more than 100 intensifiers per eye.
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