Extreme Performance Black Coatings from UV to Far Infra-Red

ULTRA HIGH EMISSIVITY COATINGS FROM UV to FIR

www.surreynanosystems.com Extreme Performance Black Coatings from UV to Far Infra-Red

Carbon nanotube coatings are the blackest known to man, exhibiting the lowest reflectance across a spectrum extending from the UV to the far infra-red. These coatings have typically been applied to fragile materials from which they are easily removed, making them unsuited to space and defence applications, where they are routinely exposed to extreme operating stress.

Vantablack® is a new nanotube-based coating developed by SNS to overcome these limitations, delivering superior shock and vibration resistance, virtually undetectable outgassing, excellent adhesion to light-weight alloys and excellent thermal stability.

Vantablack coating at Patented Low Temperature Nanotube x5000 magnification Growth Process

Whilst the application of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to black coatings is known (having been demonstrated by NASA amongst others), Surrey NanoSystems’ patented process is the first to enable their application to temperature-sensitive substrates. Aluminium foil, fragile pyro-electric detector crystals and sensitive MEMS-type structures have all been demonstrated to be amenable to the low- temperature growth technique, delivering exceptional performance.

Space Qualification Testing

Each nanotube is only a few nanometers in Vantablack has been shown to retain its optical properties following diameter and is formed from multiple walls space qualification testing to ESA standards. Qualification testing consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms confirms no particle fall-out when the Vantablack coating is subjected to thermal cycling, or extreme mechanical shock and vibration. It is chemically inert, exhibiting no mass loss at elevated temperatures and no outgassing. This environmental robustness avoids the contamination or foreign object debris issues associated with traditional black coatings. Reflectance - Visible spectrum

. Reflectance (%) Leading Competitor

Vantablack Wavelength (nanometres)

Martin Enhanced Black Leading Competitor Reflectance (%)

Vantablack

Wavelength (microns) Reflectance - Infrared spectrum

Carbon Nanotube Applications

The range of applications for Carbon Nanotubes in their various forms is vast. The high integrity highly aligned array of the type produced by the SNS process are particularly suited to use:

• As a coating in black body calibration sources • As a coating for stray light reduction • As an absorber layer in CMOS and MEMS-type optical sensors • To enhance field emission properties of electrodes • In thermal management applications

Not All Carbon Nanotube Coatings Are The Same

Previous attempts to use carbon Nanotubes to produce light absorbent coatings have involved loading various paint solutions and solvents with ‘loose’ Nanotubes. This not only produces a lower emissivity coating, but results in a material susceptible to particulate loss and outgassing. It is also difficult to reproduce the fine lithographic patterning that is possible with Vantablack.

ULTRA HIGH EMISSIVITY COATINGS FROM UV to FIR

Surrey NanoSystems About Surrey NanoSystems Unit 24 Euro Business Park Surrey NanoSystems is a classic success story that combines New Road the best of British ingenuity and materials science for use in Newhaven BN9 0DQ , UK the development, growth and commercialisation of strategically important nanomaterials. T: +44 (0) 1273 515899 E: [email protected] The company was founded in 2006 as a spinout from the W: www.surreynanosystems.com University of Surrey, and is backed by some of the UK’s most successful Venture Capital providers including the IP Group, Octopus, NewWave Ventures and Parkwalk Advisors.

Tasked with developing and commercialising carbon based nanomaterials (Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene), the company has made a huge leap forward with its Vantablack material.