Flat Black Coating

INTRODUCTION:
Reflected or stray radiation, emitted from the interior surfaces of optical instrumentation, is detrimental to instrument performance and is often the cause of erroneous readings. This stray radiation is generally called "scattered light."  To reduce the effect of scattered light, a flat black coating must be applied to interior instrument surfaces. This coating should have characteristics of minimum reflectivity in the wavelength range of the instrument.

For such "low scatter" applications, Lenox Laser Apertures, Slits, Mounts and other optical components may be supplied with a flat black coating. The reflectivity of our coating is 2% in the visible wavelengths and up to 6% in the near infrared. This means that only 2% of the visible wavelength energy incident upon the coating will be reflected. Concurrently, 98% of the energy will be absorbed. Similarly, a 6% to 94% ratio applies to the infrared.
 

The reflectance curve of Sample C, shown on the left, was generated with a calibrated Spectrophotometer and is representative of our flat black. Total reflectance (specular and diffuse) was measured in the wavelength range of 400 to 2350 nm. The curve is essentially "flat" over this wavelength range.

For reference, an example of a coating with poor scattered light reduction characteristics, is shown on the left as Sample D.

A full size copy of the Spectrophotometer flat black coating reflectance data will be provided upon request. The reflectance curves shown on this sheet are computer generated and are representative of the data.

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