Cathodic arc deposition of solar thermal selective surfaces

Abstract There are some advantages of cathodic arc deposition techniques over other thin film deposition methods. In this paper we discuss and demonstrate the possibility of applying the cathodic arc deposition technology to the production of solar energy conversion devices, particularly solar thermal selective surfaces. We show that cathodic arc deposition can be operated in a plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition mode as well as reactive deposition mode to produce metal-dielectric cermet materials. Solar thermal selective surfaces were obtained using this method. The morphology of the surfaces can be varied from rough to smooth by controlling the macroparticles content by means of filtering. Rough but dense films can be deposited, which may have potential for enhancing solar absorption for both solar thermal selective surfaces and solar cells.