It's well known that Al has a very high reflectivity in the visible/near-infrared range, which makes it become a promising anti-laser material. But for a plasma sprayed coating, there are usually many defects, such as pores, cracks and interfaces among particles, which lead to properties difference with its bulk material. In this paper, the reflectivity of plasma sprayed Al coating and its laser irradiation effect were investigated. Its reflectivity, surface roughness, porosity, microstructure, and cross-section microstructure were characterized. The results show that a high reflectivity (98.1% at CO2 laser 10.6 mu m wavelength) of plasma sprayed Al coating, which is comparable with bulk material, could be obtained. Its optical laser damage threshold is 2x10(4)W/cm(2) that makes its reflectiviy obviously decrease. Its damage mechanism is oxidation.
