Simulation of metal ceramic single layer coatings for solar energy applications

The coating materials, thickness and number of layers directly influence the reflectance and absorptance properties of the thin films. However, while selecting the materials for single and coatings, the substrate’s refractive index; bond layer, functional layer and protective layer have to be carefully chosen to obtain the desired reflectance and absorptance values. Hence, modelling and simulating the thin film coatings is essential before conducting the experiments to get meaningful results. The simulation results of single coatings have been discussed. Generally, glass is one of the widely used substrate materials for solar reflectors, aluminum is the optimal functional material, with a reflection of 93 % of light. Nickel would be a preferable functional layer with a reflection of 64 % and absorptance of 36 %, Si3N4 being the acceptable bond layers and protective layers with a reflection of 68 % some solar thermal receiver tube applications however research effort is being made to find alternate lightweight materials for this application. Polycarbonate has been chosen as an alternate material for the substrate because it is light in weight with a reflection of 93 %, which is durable and not fragile.