Coatings World - December 2011

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and principal investigator.

“It’s not cloaking, as the object can still cast a shadow. But if you put an object on a black background, then with this coating, it could really become invisible,” he said.

A paper on the research is newly published online in Applied Physics Letters.

To demonstrate this concept, the researchers made a raised, microscopic tank shape on a piece of silicon. They then grew the carbon nanotube carpet on top of the entire silicon chip. In photos taken through an optical microscope, they show that the tank is imperceptible. As a control, they did this again, carving out a rectangle that was not coated with carbon nanotubes. The rectangle is visible on this chip, but the tank remains hidden.

Here’s how the new coating works: Human eyes perceive an object based on how it reflects or scatters light. The “ refractive index” of this new coating is similar to that of air, meaning light traveling through air doesn’t scatter or reflect when it hits the coating.

It’s well known that carbon nanotubes are capable of absorbing light, but the researchers were able to push it to such a high percentage by spacing them just right.

The “perfect black” material Guo’s
team created for this coating has a host of
varied applications. It could possibly be
used in display screens for ultra-high con-
trast and a crisper picture. It holds prom-
ise as solar heating device. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology is
using a similar material to absorb infrared
light and measure the amount of heat it
can generate.

SCS building new coating center in Austin, Texas Specialty Coating Systems is expanding its parylene coating service operations into the South United States region. Build-out is underway for a new 13,000 square foot facility located in Austin, Texas. The new coating center will begin full production operations in early 2012. Austin, Texas, is gaining national recognition as a thriving innovation hub and has attracted over 3,800 companies within the technology sector. With the addition of the Texas facility, SCS has 11 parylene coating facilities around the world. Additional locations include Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States (California, Indiana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin).

Eco Building Products to
expand wood coating lines
Eco Building Products, Inc., signed a five-

PCI announces COATING 2012 trade show dedicated to industrial coatings in North America

After working with NACE for two years to merge the industrial coatings world with the performance coatings world, PCI has decided to present their own event, COATING 2012. The NAI Coating show was moderately successful but PCI said it felt this combination did not have the broad appeal exhibitors and attendees were looking for. Therefore, PCI and NACE have agreed to end The North American Industrial (NAI) Coatings Show.

COATING 2012 will be held in St. Louis, Mo., at The America's Center October 9-11. PCI will roll out a new website for COATING 2012 by the end of the year. Promoting a fresh new look, the new COATING 2012 website will have features such as an interactive floor plan, online booth sales, enhanced exhibitor center, agenda builder, printable itinerary, social peer-to-peer matching (attendees can create a profile of personal interests and the system will provide matches), itinerary planner that will suggest exhibitor and educational sessions that match attendees' interests, and more.

Special events and programs to be added include an offsite hospitality event hosted at the headquarters hotel, The Renaissance Grande, to create additional opportunities for social interaction. The event also plans to include higher education programming and certification for operators as well as additional opportunities for business and social exchange on the show floor.