Looking for an optical black coating?

Acktar is a world leader in ultra-black coatings, with a rich catalogue of coatings, covering a wide variety of wavelengths. From ultraviolet (UV) to visible (VIS) to infrared (IR), Acktar’s black coatings guarantee low reflectance, high absorptance, and excellent adhesion to virtually any and all substrate materials. With the coating being just a few microns thick, it has minimal impact on the substrate’s shape and physical qualities.

Acktar prides itself on its coatings maintaining peak performance in even the harshest of environments. When used in cryogenic applications, the coatings’ optical qualities and structural integrity remain constant, while exhibiting near-perfect thermal stability. The coatings are not damaged by neither sustained high temperatures nor by thermal cycling. Similarly, ultra-high vacuum environments have no effect on performance, and the coatings produce close to zero outgassing.

With the added fact that Acktar’s coatings are completely non-organic, non-toxic, and are created in an ecologically clean, non-polluting process, it is easy to see why Acktar is the brand of choice for many industries. From microscopes to telescopes, from sensors to lasers, any optical application requiring stray-light suppression can benefit from Acktar’s black coatings.

Whether you are looking for light absorbing foils or a proprietary coating service for your application, Acktar’s catalogue has the perfect coating for any specification.

Magic Black boasts the highest absorptance and lowest reflectance in the EUV, UV, VIS and SWIR ranges. It has a wide range of operational temperatures, compatible with ultra-high vacuum environments and highly resistant to laser damage, making it an excellent choice for any application where the lowest possible reflectance in said ranges is the main factor.

For those that need to reach a bit farther into the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, there is Fractal Black. Fractal Black excels at maintaining consistently low reflectance numbers from VIS to FIR, even at extreme temperatures and high vacuum.

While all of Acktar’s coatings consist of a very thin layer, just several microns thick, Nano Black is the thinnest – under a single micron in thickness. If your application requires the highest precision of shape and size, Nano Black provides stray light suppression with minimal impact on the physical properties of the underlying structure. Nano Black is also useful for cases in which low emissivity is required, such as cryogenic applications.

On the other hand, Lambertian Black is a relatively thick coating, but one that exhibits low reflectance from UV to IR, and very high emissivity. Due to the thick layer of coating, Lambertian Black maintains high light absorptance at any angle, including grazing angles, making it especially suitable for stray light management in optical applications such as telescopes and star-trackers.

These and all other Acktar coatings are fully space certified, and have proven themselves in many space projects, both state-funded and private. Acktar’s coatings are used in the James Webb Space Telescope, the Solar Orbiter, and the Copernicus project, among others.

Whichever coating you choose, Acktar’s proprietary vacuum coating process can be used on a variety of substrates – metals, glass, ceramics and polymers. Acktar also offers a range of off-the-rack, ready-to-use products, including coated metal and polymer foils, with or without adhesive, and coated slits and pinholes in a range of sizes.

If you are unsure of which coating will serve best for your purposes, or you have not found the perfect coating in the online catalogue, Acktar’s experts are ready to help. Acktar’s customer service will provide you with a sample kit for testing, as well as consultation about the coating best fit for your purposes. For especially unique and specific requirements, Acktar is able to adjust some of its standard coatings to better fit your needs.

To consult with our experts, contact us at mailto:[email protected]

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