Nanowerk February 4, 2020
Direct femtosecond laser processing fabrication technique can effectively modify the optical, electrical, mechanical, and tribological properties of materials for a wide range of potential applications. However, it is difficult to precisely control the surface properties. Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a process to obtain more control over spectral light absorption. They experimentally demonstrated spectral control of a variety of metals (copper aluminium, steel and tungsten), resulting in the creation of broadband light absorbers and selective solar absorbers (SSAs). They have shown that fs-laser-produced surfaces can be used as high-temperature SSAs and demonstrated that W-SSA provides a 130% increase in solar TEG efficiency when integrated into a solar thermoelectric generation device…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Lasers etch a ‘perfect’ solar energy absorber
Posted in Solar energy and tagged Thermoelectric power generation.