High solar absorption of a multilayered thin film structure

Opt Express. 2007 Feb 19;15(4):1907-12. doi: 10.1364/oe.15.001907.

Abstract

We report a structure with 4 thin film layers composed of pure metal and dielectric materials and prepared by sputtering. The reflectance and transmittance are lower than 5% with the absorption to be achieved higher than 95% in the 400-1000nm wavelength region as match to the solar radiance spectrum. The thermal emittance of the structure is in the range of 0.063-0.10 through data analysis. The good reproducibility and stability of spectral data associated with the deposition process imply the advantage of the solar energy absorber which is cost-effective in application.