Laser absorption and infrared stealth properties of Al/ATO composites

In this work, an Al powder was coated with antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) to obtain an infrared-laser compatible stealth material. The composites are prepared via a coprecipitation method, characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometer and dual band infrared emissometer. The morphology and microstructure show that the flaky Al powder was coated by the ATO nanoparticles and doped into the SnO2 rutile structure by an Sb5+ ion. The optimal Al content was 20%, and the optimized Sn/Sb molar ratio was 10: 1. Meanwhile, the reflectivity of the composites was 43.454%, and the infrared emissivity in 8–14 μm far infrared waveband range was 0.708. It may shed light on a new material design orientation to obtain high performance laser-infrared compatible stealth materials.