Co-sputtering of A Thin Film Broadband Absorber Based on Self-Organized Plasmonic Cu Nanoparticles

The efficient conversion of solar energy to heat is a prime challenge for solar thermal absorbers, and various material classes and device concepts are discussed. One exciting class of solar thermal absorbers are plasmonic broadband absorbers that rely on light absorption thanks to plasmonic resonances sustained in metallic nanoparticles. This work focuses on Cu/Al₂O₃ plasmonic absorbers, which consist of a thin film stack of a metallic Cu-mirror, a dielectric Al₂O₃ spacer, and an Al₂O₃/Cu-nanoparticle nanocomposite. This work explores two preparation routes for the Al₂O₃/Cu-nanoparticle nanocomposite, which rely on the self-organization of Cu nanoparticles from sputtered atoms, either in the gas phase (i.e., via gas aggregation source) or on the thin film surface (i.e., via simultaneous co-sputtering). While in either case, Cu-Al₂O₃-Al₂O₃/Cu absorbers with a low reflectivity over a broad wavelength regime are obtained, the simultaneous co-sputtering approach enabled better control over the film roughness and showed excellent agreement with dedicated simulations of the optical properties of the plasmonic absorber using a multi-scale modeling approach. Upon variation of the thickness and filling factor of the Al₂O₃/Cu nanocomposite layer, the optical properties of the plasmonic absorbers are tailored, reaching an integrated reflectance down to 0.17 (from 250 to 1600 nm).