A hyperspectral stealth material design method based on the composition and mixing spectral feature of desert soil

In this study, we used desert soil from Gansu, China, as a sample to propose a method for designing hyperspectral stealth coatings against desert soil backgrounds within the spectral range of 400-2500 nm, and the corresponding coating was prepared. Firstly, the correlation between the composition and typical spectral detected characteristics of the desert soil was systematically analyzed. It was found that the color and the spectrum of the desert soil in the range of 400-1000 nm were influenced by different types of iron oxides. The main spectral characteristic and reflection intensity at 1000-2500 nm were impacted by quartz and montmorillonite. Subsequently, the design method for hyperspectral stealth coatings was developed by analyzing the differences in spectral and structural characteristics between the coatings and the soil. The prepared coating exhibited similar color and spectral shape to the soil in the range of 400-1000 nm, with comparable spectral features around 1414 nm, 1915 nm, 2212 nm, 2250 nm, and 2346 nm. The correlation coefficient and the spectral cosine angle between the reflectance spectra of the coating and the soil within the 400-2500 nm wavelength were calculated to be 0.989 and only 0.05 radians, respectively. The effectiveness of the coating in achieving excellent camouflage against the desert soil background was confirmed through the analysis of multispectral images and thermal infrared temperature. This study holds significant importance for the application of hyperspectral stealth techniques in desert soil scenarios.