Increasingly powerful radar systems which could adversely affect the equipment in aircraft traffic control towers are leading US airports to fit a special metallic coated glass.
Datastop, a glass spe…
Increasingly powerful radar systems which could adversely affect the equipment in aircraft traffic control towers are leading US airports to fit a special metallic coated glass. Datastop, a glass specially made with a microscopic conductive coating, was developed by Pilkington to shield computers from electronic eavesdroppers. The conductive coating on the glass means that it can be earthed, the same as a metal screen, to form a Faraday cage protecting anything within the cage from electrostatic interference and electromagnetic radiation. The Federal Aviation Authority in the US had become concerned that the latest generation of highly powerful radar installations might pose a threat to the sophisticated electronic systems contained in aircraft control towers. A key factor in using Datastop to solve the problem was that the glass contains no metal mesh to achieve the screening and at the same time maintains the optical clarity of conventional glass. According to Pilkington, Datastop in the window systems provides 99% protection across radar frequencies without any measurable loss of light transmission with the benefit that the coating gives improved image enhancement. The special glass treatment also significantly reduces UVA and UVB transmission. Two prototype Datastop control tower installations, at Amarillo and Jackson, both in Texas, US, were completed and tested, after which a further eight air traffic control towers in the US were retrofitted with Datastop systems.