Infrared–visible compatible stealth based on Al-SiO2 nanoparticle composite film

As an anti-reconnaissance method, infrared stealth technology has been paid more and more attention. With low infrared emissivity and high reflectivity in the infrared band, aluminum (Al) with face centered cubic crystal structure is widely used in the research of infrared stealth materials. However, due to the similarly high reflectivity of metal Al in the visible band, the compatibility between infrared and visible stealth cannot be realized. Al-SiO2 nanoparticle composite films (NCF) with different volume content of SiO2 are prepared by the magnetron co-sputtering method in this work. When the volume content of SiO2 is optimized to 6.9%, the infrared emissivity of the nanoparticle composite film is as low as 0.12 and the visible absorptivity is as high as 0.67. The simultaneous low infrared emissivity and high visible absorptivity of Al-SiO2 nanoparticle composite film solves the compatibility problem between the infrared stealth and the visible stealth.