INTER MATERIALS, LLC SBIR Phase II Award, August 2020

One of the main interests and urgent need for the US Navy is to develop an embedded carbon nanotube (CNT) transparent heater film to be used for de-icing and defogging aircraft windshields. To mitigate the burnout of the conductive heater layer as the leading cause of aircraft windscreen failures, INTER Materials proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative technology that promises to deposit adherent carbon nanotube conductive films to acrylic substrates to improve their performance without compromising the optical properties of acrylic. The proof-of-concept criteria is for the process to be scalable for full-size aircraft windshields. INTER Materials confidence on the proposed CNT technology is based on our success with developing scratch/abrasion resistant coating technologies for aircraft windscreens, our access to the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment at Virginia Tech for the characterization of thin films, and our partnership with a well-established and recognized manufacturer of transparencies and canopies for military aircraft. In addition, INTER Materials has the support from NanoLab Inc for the supply of CNT dispersions/inks. NanoLab, with volume manufacturing capabilities of customized CNT suspensions/inks, is recognized worldwide for its expertise in the fields of carbon nanotube synthesis, purification, chiral separation, dispersion, functionalization, and characterization.