The Development of Ultrathin Polyimide for Laser Target and Other Applications

Abstract

This paper presents summary results of a development project to optimize submicron polyimide films for applications such as gas-filled laser targets and filters for x-ray astronomy. Data on deflection and burst pressure is presented along with deflection vs. pressure for aluminized films. It is shown that submicron thick polyimide is significantly stronger than Lexan of the same thickness. Also included is data on transmission as a function of photon energy and wavelength.