Refractory absorber/emitter using monolayer of ceramic microparticles

Abstract

We present a self-assembled refractory absorber/emitter without the necessity to structure the metallic surface itself, still retaining the feature of tailored optical properties for visible light emission and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) applications. We have demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that monolayers of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) microparticles on a tungsten layer can be used as large area, efficient and thermally stable selective absorbers/emitters. The band edge of the absorption is based on critically coupled microsphere resonances. It can be tuned from visible to near-infrared range by varying the diameter of the microparticles. We demonstrated the optical functionality of the structure after annealing up to temperatures of 1000°C under vacuum conditions. In particular it opens up the route towards high efficiency TPV systems with emission matched to the photovoltaic cell.