Steve Northam

Vantablack is the brand name for a range of spray applied super-black coatings used for stray light suppression in visible and IR spectrum imaging and terrestrial or flight black body calibration systems. The coatings are unique in that they have an exceptionally low total hemispherical reflectance (THR) and absorb light efficiently from all photon arrival angles, both are critical requirements for simplifying optical system design and trapping unwanted stray light in visible and IR sensor systems. As well as exceptional optical properties, the coatings also have advantageous underlying functional properties that make them ideal for use in challenging environments like low earth orbit and in camera shielding systems where optics must not be degraded over the life of the sensor. On earth and in space, sunlight, earthlight and moonlight causes glare, ghosting and reduced S/N ratio in sensor systems. Vantablack coatings have demonstrated their ability to resolve these challenges in the most demanding of applications and environments. We provide a coating service from our UK facility for our Space-qualified products. Our coatings for use in automotive applications are supplied in-bulk to a network of automotive high-volume applicators in China, Vietnam, Europe, and Mexico. We maintain advanced Space and Automotive testing capabilities to support our Clients at our facilities close to Brighton, UK. Production Coatings: • Vantablack S-VIS – UV to FIR Space qualified, spray applied coating based on carbon nanotube technology. Generally used for baffle systems and LiDAR. • Vantablack S-IR – IR Optimised from 3-30µm and used for space based and terrestrial blackbody systems and cold-shields • Vantablack VBx2.3 – Spray applied, ADAS stray light suppression coating – nanomaterial free and used for camera glare shields and Head-Up-Displays (HUDs) To understand how our coatings can help simplify your design, reduce launch mass and improve driver safety in difficult ligh