BLAST-WHITE – White Laser Structured Metal Surfaces with Maximized Thermal Emissivity and Minimized Visible Light Absorptivity

Thermal management is a major challenge for spacecrafts. In the vacuum of space, heat can only be dissipated by thermal radiation. However, good thermal emitters are typically also strong solar absorbers. An ideal surface therefore reflects visible sunlight to minimize heating while efficiently emitting thermal radiation. This project addresses this challenge by developing sustainable, white, highly reflective, and thermally emissive surfaces through femtosecond laser structuring of bulk materials.

Benefits:

• One-step process without masking for spatially resolved surfaces
• Flexible and customer-oriented adaptation of the process for areas with different surface properties on the same workpiece (e.g. an absorptive but not emissive region).
• Process that does not require pre-treatment and is performed at atmospheric conditions without tempering or curing.
• Avoidance of REACH-related/toxic components
• Absence of any components prone to outgassing (e.g. solvents, stabilisers, plasticisers)
• Surfaces are highly stable, even under harsh conditions, and are not prone to flaking.
• Possibility to repair damaged surfaces using a spatially resolved laser process exclusively on the damaged area