Surrey NanoSystems developed Vantablack® — the world's darkest man-made substance, absorbing 99.65% of natural light. The Vantablack coating uses carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that form a coral-like structure full of variably-sized cavities that trap photons across the full spectrum from UV through to infrared. Testing with ABB and the Canadian Space Agency showed Vantablack decreased photon leakage by 5 orders of magnitude at cryogenic temperatures, and reduced the design complexity and weight of space instrumentation modules.
