Spinoff story
Scratch-Resistant Lenses
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Lewis Research Center developed a process for achieving diamond-hard coatings for aerospace systems. The technique involves coating the material with a film of diamond-like carbon (DLC) using direct ion deposition. An ion generator creates a stream of ions from a hydrocarbon gas source; the carbon ions impinge directly on the target substrate and grow" into a thin DLC film. In 1988 Air Products and Chemicals Inc. received a license to the NASA patent. Diamonex an Air Products spinoff company further developed the NASA process to create the DiamondHard technology used on the Bausch & Lomb Ray-Ban Survivors sunglasses. The sunglasses are scratch-resistant and shed water more easily thus reducing spotting."