Spectral absorption control of femtosecond laser-treated metals and application in solar-thermal devices

Abstract

Direct femtosecond (fs) laser processing is a maskless fabrication technique that can effectively modify the optical, electrical, mechanical, and tribological properties of materials for a wide range of potential applications. However, the eventual implementation of fs-laser-treated surfaces in actual devices remains challenging because it is difficult to precisely control the surface properties. Previous studies of the morphological control of fs-laser-processed surfaces mostly focused on enhancing the uniformity of periodic microstructures. Here, guided by the plasmon hybridisation model, we control the morphology of surface nanostructures to obtain more control over spectral light absorption. We experimentally demonstrate spectral control of a variety of metals [copper (Cu), aluminium (Al), steel and tungsten (W)], resulting in the creation of broadband light absorbers and selective solar absorbers (SSAs). For the first time, we demonstrate that fs-laser-produced surfaces can be used as high-temperature SSAs. We show that a tungsten selective solar absorber (W-SSA) exhibits excellent performance as a high-temperature solar receiver. When integrated into a solar thermoelectric generation (TEG) device, W-SSA provides a 130% increase in solar TEG efficiency compared to untreated W, which is commonly used as an intrinsic selective light absorber.

Solution‐Processed All‐Ceramic Plasmonic Metamaterials for Efficient Solar–Thermal Conversion over 100–727 °C

“…For instance, to improve the system efficiency and compete with fossil fuel-fired plants, next-generation CSP plants are expected to boost the operation temperature to above 650 °C. [7,8] Despite the significant progress in demonstrating high-temperature SSAs based on different structures, [18] including cermets, [19][20][21] photonic crystals, [22][23][24] multilayered thin films, [25][26][27] and metamaterials, [28][29][30][31] many of them show inferior low-temperature performance compared with commercial SSAs due to insufficient selectivity. More importantly, similar to most low-temperature SSAs, these high-temperature SSAs are manufactured by sophisticated techniques like high-vacuum deposition, [19][20][21]25,27] and lithographic processes, [22][23][24]28,29,31] leading to high costs in large-scale productions.…”

Solar-trackable super-wicking black metal panel for photothermal water sanitation

“…Further investigations to realize large-scale SWSA sheets are essential for generating sufficient amounts of clean water for personal use and for commercial applications. Moreover, Al sheets can be laser treated to fabricate selective solar-absorber super-wicking surfaces to reduce radiation losses to further increase efficiency of the device at a given optical concentration 34 . Finally, sheets can be integrated with the already existing solar-panel tracking systems to increase their efficiencies.…”

Laser Synthesis and Microfabrication of Micro/Nanostructured Materials Toward Energy Conversion and Storage

“…The laser processing technique provides a reliable and cost-effective strategy for fabricating nanomaterials with broad-spectrum https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00577-0 © The authors [144] https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00577-0 © The authors solar energy absorption on a large scale. In particular, these laser-microfabricated materials are widely applied to various photothermal conversion, anti-reflection and light harvesting applications [152,153]. By successively constructing microstructures and nanostructures via ultrafast laser patterning and subsequent thermal oxidation, an infrared antireflection nanowire array was obtained on a Cu surface [154].…”