Molded RF Materials for Hypersonic Sensors and Seekers

With hypersonics vital to national security, LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute, along with the Department of Defense (DoD), recently awarded ATC Materials, Inc. one of the institute's nationwide Hypersonics Challenge projects. The challenge goal: To demonstrate the repeatable and reliable production of their RIPS molded radio frequency (RF) material. Operating at speeds of Mach 5 or higher, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic vehicles are among the Department of Defense's top priorities, as well as the development of a safe and secure domestic supply base.

Based in Westlake, Ohio, with a second facility in Flagstaff, Arizona, ATC specializes in engineered RF materials for extreme environments. ATC's Reduced-density Injection-moldable Pressureless-sintered Silicon-nitride (RIPS) was developed specifically for RF performance at elevated temperatures and is currently undergoing qualification tests for DoD applications. RIPS fills a gap in the performance of conventional materials by optimizing RF, thermal, and mechanical properties for hypersonic applications.