Stencil lithography of gold-black IR absorption coatings

•We report infrared spectral microscopy of gold black patterns produced by stencil lithography.•The spatial extent of strong IR absorption is somewhat smaller than the mask openings and visual appearance of the pattern.•The edges of the patterns appear sharper at long-wave IR wavelengths than at shorter wavelengths.•The patterned gold black is more conductive than for blanket depositions.

Gold black coatings are deposited through a stencil shadow mask to produce infrared-absorbing patterns with sub-mm lateral dimensions. Such dimensions match the characteristic pitch of Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) array bolometers. Infrared spectral imaging with sub-micron spatial resolution reveals the spatial distribution of absorption across the pattern.