Metallized polyester film is PET film with a vacuum-deposited metal layer, most often aluminum, that gives the film reflectivity, electrical conductivity, and barrier properties. In spacecraft thermal control it is the workhorse reflector layer inside multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets. Dunmore converts aerospace-grade metallized PET alongside conductive, barrier, and decorative metallized films for other industries.
Metallized PET is a commodity in packaging; spacecraft-grade material is not. Dunmore converts both, and its aerospace line is backed by ISO 9001:2015 certified quality systems and four decades supplying the space industry.
Standard conductive constructions measure 1.80 Ω/sq for aluminum-coated PET and 0.80 Ω/sq for copper-coated PET.
Beyond PET, Dunmore metallizes polyimide, fluoropolymers including Tedlar®, ETFE, ECTFE and FEP, as well as PEEK, BOPP, and LDPE.
Dunmore metallizes PET and a broad selection of specialty film substrates with aluminum or copper. Standard conductive aluminum-coated PET measures 1.80 Ω/sq sheet resistance, while copper-coated PET measures 0.80 Ω/sq.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Substrate | Polyester (PET); also polyimide, fluoropolymer, PEEK, BOPP and LDPE |
| Metal Layer | Aluminum (standard); copper available |
| Sheet Resistance — Al/PET | 1.80 Ω/sq |
| Sheet Resistance — Cu/PET | 0.80 Ω/sq |
| Common Finishes | Bright chrome, gold, brushed stainless, pewter and matte aluminum |
Adding a thin layer of aluminum or copper to a film substrate can provide functional characteristics beyond the base polymer.
Aluminum provides reflective properties that make metallized films useful for spacecraft thermal management and reflective insulation.
Aluminum- and copper-coated PET provide electrically conductive film surfaces, including standard constructions rated at 1.80 Ω/sq and 0.80 Ω/sq.
Metallization can enhance oxygen and moisture barrier performance for packaging and other protective applications.
In spacecraft MLI blankets, aluminized PET forms the stacked reflector layers that block radiative heat transfer. Dunmore's MLI films and ready-to-integrate Satkit MLI both build on this material. Outside aerospace, metallized PET serves as reflective insulation in construction, barrier layers in flexible packaging, conductive film in electronics, and decorative finishes in labels and surfacing.
Dunmore has technical experience metallizing a wide variety of plastic film substrates. Material selection can be matched to thermal, electrical, barrier, environmental, and application requirements.
Polyester is used extensively for aerospace MLI reflector layers, conductive films, barrier applications, labels and decorative surfaces.
Polyimide provides a higher-temperature substrate option for aerospace and demanding thermal-control environments.
Available substrates include Tedlar® film (PVF), ETFE, ECTFE and FEP.
Dunmore also metallizes PEEK, BOPP and LDPE films for specialized performance requirements.
Dunmore Aerospace has manufactured thermal control materials for the space industry since 1985 from Bristol, Pennsylvania. Dunmore materials flew on NASA's Cassini mission, documented in NASA's Spinoff 2016 report. Dunmore is ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Decades of aerospace material experience.
Dunmore materials supported NASA's Cassini mission.
ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Aluminized film is metallized film where the deposited metal is aluminum. Metallized is the broader term covering any vacuum-deposited metal, including copper. Most MLI reflector layers are aluminized PET or aluminized polyimide.
Both spellings are correct in American English, and British English uses metallised or metalised. Engineering specifications commonly use the double-L form.
The aluminum layer reflects radiant heat, and stacking many reflector layers with low-conductance separators cuts radiative heat transfer to a fraction of a single layer's. PET provides a light, strong, stable carrier at lower cost than polyimide, within its temperature limits.
PET's service range is narrower than polyimide's, which is why hot-side MLI layers move to Kapton®-based films and PET serves the layers that stay within its limits. Contact Dunmore for grade-specific temperature data.
Yes: polyimide, Tedlar®, ETFE, ECTFE, FEP, PEEK, BOPP, and LDPE, with aluminum or copper.
Standard aluminum-coated PET measures 1.80 Ω/sq and copper-coated PET measures 0.80 Ω/sq.
Talk to Dunmore about aerospace-grade metallized PET, conductive films, barrier materials, decorative films, and metallized specialty substrates.