Design and Fabrication of SiO₂ Coated Al Thin Films with High Performance for Solar Front Reflectors

Abstract

The SiO2 coated Al thin films deposited on glass substrate for solar front reflectors were designed using Essential Macleod Program (EMP) and successfully fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The obtained thin films showed high reflectivity (up to 89.51%) under the light wavelength ranged from 250 to 2500 nm, which was identical with calculated results. Moreover, the thin films showed high anti-corrosion properties after the harsh abrasion tests. The high performance of the thin films was mainly attributed to the SiO2 layer, which served as a good protection without serious degradation of reflectivity, demonstrating the bright prospects for outdoor solar front reflectors.