Fabrication of Materials with Low Optical Reflectance Based on Laser-Microstructured Metal Surfaces

Abstract

It has experimentally been shown that the specular reflectance of some metals can be reduced by one to two orders of magnitude by subjecting them to multipulse laser ablation in air. An increase in the coefficient of grayness has been implemented for copper, nickel, aluminum, and stainless steel. Multipulse ablation of the corresponding targets leads to the formation of a quasi-periodic microstructure with an amplitude relief ranging from 30 to 50 μm. The specular reflectance of duralumin has been reduced using anodic oxidation of the microstructures formed by laser ablation and filling the newly formed pores with carbon nanoparticles. The thus obtained surfaces are close to ideal black body in their optical characteristics.