Japan Team Develops Black Sheet Absorbing 99.98 Pct of Visible Light

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese research team has developed a black sheet that absorbs over 99.98 pct of visible light, using commercial black paint made from oil extracted from cashew nut shells.

The team of researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology on Wednesday announced the research outcome, which was published in the U.S. journal Science Advances.

It is known that a visible light absorption rate of nearly 100 pct can be realized with carbon nanotubes. However, the use of carbon nanotubes is limited, due to the fragility of their surface structure, as well as their high prices.

The black sheet “can be used, for example, for making camera and other components to suppress diffuse reflection of light and for displaying subtle graduations of black,” Kuniaki Amemiya, leader of the applied optical measurement group of the AIST, told a press conference.

“We’d like to cooperate with related makers to put (the sheet) into practical use,” Amemiya added.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]