Fabrication of selective solar absorbers using pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

Selective solar absorbers are devices that have been designed to absorb as much as possible of the solar radiation which is in the wavelength range of 0.3 to 2.5 µm and to minimise thermal emittance in the wavelength range from 2.5µm to the far infrared region. Minimising thermal emittance implies that the device retains all the solar energy that it absorbs from the sun without releasing it in the form of heat, until it has been collected and delivered to where it is to be utilised. Selective solar absorbers have been fabricated before using different techniques, among them the sol gel technique, sputtering, painting and the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique.