Structural and optical properties of AlxOy/Pt/AlxOy multilayer absorber

We report on the microstructure and optical properties of Al_xO_y–Pt–Al_xO_y interference-type multilayer films, deposited by electron beam (e-beam) deposition onto corning 1737 glass, silicon (1 1 1) and copper substrates. The structural properties were investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The optical properties were extracted from specular reflection/transmission, diffuse reflectance and emissometer measurements. The stratification of the coatings consists of a semi-transparent middle Pt layer sandwiched between two layers of Al_xO_y. The top and bottom Al_xO_y layers were non-stoichiometric with no crystalline phases present. The Pt layer is in the fcc crystalline phase with a broad size distribution and spheroidal shape in and between the rims of Al_xO_y. The surface roughness of the stack was found to be comparable to the inter-particle distance. The optical calculations confirm a high solar absorptance of ∼0.94 and a low thermal emittance of ∼0.06 for the multilayer stack, which is attributed not only to the optimized nature of the multilayer interference stacks, but also to the specific surface morphology and texture of the coatings. These optical characteristics validate the spectral selectivity of the Al_xO_y–Pt–Al_xO_y interference-type multilayer stack for use in high temperature solar-thermal applications.