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Thickness Dependence of Structural and Optical Properties of Chromium Thin Films as an Infrared Reflector for Solar-thermal Conversion Applications

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Abstract

The thermal emittance of Cr film, as an IR reflector, was investigated for the use in SSAC. The Cr thin films with different thicknesses were deposited on silicon wafers, optical quartz and stainless steel substrates by cathodic arc ion plating technology as a metallic IR reflector layer in SSAC. The thickness of Cr thin films was optimized to achieve the minimum thermal emittance. The effects of structural, microstructural, optical, surface and cross-sectional morphological properties of Cr thin films were investigated on the emittance. An optimal thickness about 450 nm of the Cr thin film for the lowest total thermal emittance of 0.05 was obtained. The experimental results suggested that the Cr metallic thin film with optimal thickness could be used as an effective infrared reflector for the development of SSAC structure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Qingyu Li  (李擎煜) & Xudong Cheng  (程旭东)

  2. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Dianqing Gong

Authors
  1. Qingyu Li  (李擎煜)
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  2. Dianqing Gong
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  3. Xudong Cheng  (程旭东)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xudong Cheng  (程旭东).

Additional information

Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51402208 ), and the Project by State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing (Wuhan University of Technology) (No. 2016-KF-11)

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Li, Q., Gong, D. & Cheng, X. Thickness Dependence of Structural and Optical Properties of Chromium Thin Films as an Infrared Reflector for Solar-thermal Conversion Applications. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 34, 1239–1247 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-019-2184-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-019-2184-x

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