Solar absorber
By designing a multilayer structure consisting of a Ti substrate, an Al2O3 dielectric layer, a TiN ultrathin film layer, and a TiN antenna, the problem of poor absorption performance in existing solar energy absorbers was solved, achieving high absorption rate and broadband absorption, making it suitable for large-scale production.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- 48TH RES INST OF CHINA ELECTRONICS TECH GROUP CORP
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-02
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Existing solar absorbers suffer from problems such as short absorption spectrum, low storage capacity, high cost, and unsuitability for large-scale processing. Furthermore, their absorption effect is poor, making it difficult to achieve both high absorptivity and a wide absorption band.
A multilayer structure consisting of a Ti substrate, an Al2O3 dielectric layer, a TiN ultrathin film layer, and a TiN antenna is adopted. Each layer is square or circular in shape and is arranged in a periodic array to form a centrally symmetrical absorber unit.
It achieves an average absorption rate of 90.3% in a wide bandwidth range of 300nm-2500nm, with good absorption effect, high stability, easy processing and production, and is not affected by light source polarization and incident angle.
Smart Images
Figure CN122043635A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of micro-nano optoelectronics technology, and in particular to a solar energy absorber. Background Technology
[0002] Like wind and tidal energy, solar energy is a clean energy source that produces almost no pollution during its development and utilization. Coupled with its virtually unlimited reserves, it is an ideal alternative energy source for humankind. Traditional fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) release large amounts of toxic and harmful substances during use, causing serious pollution to water, soil, and the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and acid rain, and severely endangering human living conditions and health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new, cleaner alternative energy sources, and solar energy, as a relatively ideal clean and renewable energy source, is receiving increasing attention from countries around the world. Solar thermal conversion is the most common, direct, and effective method for collecting and utilizing solar energy, and the most crucial component in a solar thermal conversion system is the solar absorber.
[0003] Noble metals are used in solar energy absorbers due to their strong optical coupling effect and plasmon resonance behavior. However, the further widespread application of most noble metals is still limited by their short absorption spectra, low storage capacity, high cost, and unsuitability for large-scale processing. Titanium is a high-temperature material with low mass density, excellent corrosion resistance, and stability, making it suitable for use in spacecraft, aircraft, and various mechanical parts. Moreover, titanium and its compounds can exhibit strong plasmon resonance behavior, and their large imaginary part of dielectric constant can induce high light absorption over a wide bandwidth. In addition, titanium and its compounds have high operating temperatures and are far more abundant on Earth than commonly used noble metals. These properties make titanium and its compounds a highly promising material for solar energy absorbers. In recent years, a wide variety of solar energy absorbers have been designed by researchers from various countries, but most absorbers have some drawbacks, such as poor broadband performance, low absorptivity, or absorption bandwidth that does not match the energy distribution of the solar spectrum, resulting in poor absorption performance. Therefore, high-temperature solar energy absorbers with both high absorptivity and a wide absorption band remain promising and worthy of further development. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a solar energy absorber with simple structure, easy actual processing and production, good absorption effect and good stability.
[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A solar energy absorber includes multiple absorber units arranged in a periodic array. Each absorber unit includes a substrate layer, a dielectric layer, an ultrathin film layer, and at least one antenna arranged sequentially from bottom to top. The substrate layer is made of Ti, the dielectric layer is made of Al2O3, and the ultrathin film layer and the antenna are both made of TiN. The projection of the substrate layer, dielectric layer, and ultrathin film layer onto the XOY plane is square, and the projection of the antenna onto the XOY plane is circular.
[0006] As a further improvement to the above technical solution: The antenna is provided in four parts, arranged in a rectangular array on the ultrathin film layer.
[0007] The thickness of the substrate layer ranges from 360 nm to 400 nm.
[0008] The thickness of the substrate layer is 380 nm.
[0009] The thickness of the dielectric layer ranges from 160 nm to 200 nm.
[0010] The thickness of the dielectric layer is 180 nm.
[0011] The thickness of the ultrathin film layer is 20 nm.
[0012] The antenna has a diameter of 250 nm and a height of 200 nm.
[0013] The side lengths of the substrate layer, dielectric layer, and ultrathin film layer are all 500 nm.
[0014] The array period of the absorber unit is 500 nm.
[0015] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: 1. The solar energy absorber of the present invention has a simple structure with only four layers stacked on top of each other, and each layer has only square and circular shapes. It is easy to process and produce in practice.
[0016] 2. The solar energy absorber of the present invention has an average absorption rate of 90.3% in a broadband range of 300nm-2500nm, which can effectively cover the main energy distribution range of the solar energy spectrum and has a good absorption effect.
[0017] 3. The solar energy absorber of the present invention has good stability because its absorption effect is not affected by the polarization of the light source due to its centrally symmetrical structure.
[0018] 4. The solar energy absorber of the present invention has a good absorption effect within the incident angle range of 0° to 70°. Attached Figure Description
[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the solar energy absorber of the present invention.
[0020] Figure 2 This is a top view of the solar energy absorber of the present invention.
[0021] Figure 3 This is a side view of the solar energy absorber of the present invention.
[0022] Figure 4 This is an electron microscope image showing the manufacturing process monitoring of the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0023] Figure 5 This is a graph showing the absorption effect of the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0024] Figure 6 This is a graph showing the effect of antenna height variation on absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0025] Figure 7 This is a graph showing the effect of antenna diameter variation on absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0026] Figure 8 This is a curve showing the effect of the change in the thickness of the ultrathin film layer on the absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0027] Figure 9 This is a curve showing the effect of the change in the thickness of the dielectric layer in the solar absorber of this invention on the absorption rate.
[0028] Figure 10 This is a curve showing the effect of the change in the thickness of the substrate layer on the absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0029] Figure 11 This is the curve showing the effect of the periodic variation of the absorber unit array on the absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0030] Figure 12 This is a color mapping diagram showing the effect of changes in the solar energy incident angle on the absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0031] Figure 13 This is a color mapping diagram showing the effect of changes in solar polarization angle on the absorption rate in the solar energy absorber of this invention.
[0032] The labels in the diagram represent: 1. Substrate layer; 2. Dielectric layer; 3. Ultrathin film layer; 4. Antenna. Detailed Implementation
[0033] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.
[0034] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.
[0035] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0036] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "assembly," "connection," "joining," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.
[0037] Example 1: like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the solar energy absorber of this embodiment includes multiple absorber units arranged in a periodic array. Each absorber unit includes a substrate layer 1, a dielectric layer 2, an ultrathin film layer 3, and at least one antenna 4 arranged sequentially from bottom to top. The substrate layer 1 is made of Ti material, the dielectric layer 2 is made of Al2O3 material, and the ultrathin film layer 3 and the antenna 4 are both made of TiN material. The projection of the substrate layer 1, the dielectric layer 2, and the ultrathin film layer 3 onto the XOY plane (i.e., the horizontal plane) is a square, and the projection of the antenna 4 onto the XOY plane is a circle. That is, the substrate layer 1, the dielectric layer 2, and the ultrathin film layer 3 are cubes, and the antenna 4 is a cylinder.
[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, four antennas 4 are provided, and each antenna 4 is arranged in a rectangular array on the ultrathin film layer 3. The four antennas 4 constitute the antenna layer, and the center of the substrate layer 1, the dielectric layer 2, the ultrathin film layer 3 and the antenna layer are coaxial.
[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the substrate layer 1 is 380 nm, the thickness of the dielectric layer 2 is 180 nm, the thickness of the ultrathin film layer 3 is 20 nm, the diameter of the antenna 4 is 250 nm and the height is 200 nm, the spacing between adjacent antennas 4 is 380 nm, the side length of the substrate layer 1, the dielectric layer 2 and the ultrathin film layer 3 is 500 nm, and the array period of the absorber unit is 500 nm (i.e., the spacing between adjacent absorber units).
[0040] The solar absorber in this embodiment adopts, as shown in... Figure 4 The semiconductor process flow shown is actually processed, and the details are as follows: Figure 4 (a) Electron micrographs of the substrate layer 1, dielectric layer 2, and ultrathin film layer 3 of Ti material obtained by electron beam thermal evaporation; Figure 4 (b) for in Figure 4 (a) Electron micrograph of PMMA holes obtained by spin-coating PMMA photoresist followed by electron beam exposure and development; Figure 4 (c) and Figure 4 (d) is an electron microscope image of antenna 4 obtained by deposition and stripping processes.
[0041] Under conditions of 0° incident sunlight, TE polarization, and a broadband range of 300nm-2500nm, the absorptivity of the solar absorber in this embodiment was tested using FDTD-Solutions software. The absorption effect is as follows: Figure 5 As shown. And using the following formula.
[0042] Calculate its average absorption rate.
[0043] Where A is the average absorptivity of the absorber, λ is the wavelength of the incident light, and λ max λ is the maximum value within the incident light wavelength range, and λmin is the minimum value within the incident light wavelength range. A(λ) is a function of the absorber intensity as a function of the incident light wavelength.
[0044] The average absorption rate of the solar energy absorber in this embodiment is calculated to be 90.3% using the above formula.
[0045] The solar absorber in this embodiment has a simple structure with only four stacked layers, and each layer is only square or circular in shape. It is easy to manufacture and process. The average absorption rate is 90.3% in the broadband range of 300nm-2500nm, which can effectively cover the main energy distribution range of the solar spectrum and has a good absorption effect. Since the solar absorber has a centrally symmetrical structure, its absorption effect is not affected by the polarization of the light source and has good stability.
[0046] Example 2: This implementation, based on Example 1, modifies the height of antenna 4 and performs simulation tests to examine the effect of the height change on the absorption rate. The absorption rate curve is shown below when the height of antenna 4 changes from 180nm to 220nm. Figure 6 As shown, simulation results indicate that as the height of antenna 4 increases, its absorption rate in the visible light band decreases significantly, while its absorption rate in the near-infrared band increases significantly. Overall, it maintains high absorption efficiency, which demonstrates that the solar energy absorber of this invention has good processing tolerance and reasonable structural design.
[0047] Example 3: This implementation, based on Example 1, changes the diameter of antenna 4 and simulates the effect of the diameter change on the absorption rate. When the diameter of antenna 4 changes from 230nm to 270nm, the absorption rate curve is as follows... Figure 7 As shown, simulation results indicate that as the diameter of antenna 4 increases, its absorption rate in the visible light band does not change significantly, while its absorption rate in the near-infrared band changes slightly. Overall, it maintains high-efficiency absorption, which shows that the solar energy absorber of the present invention has good processing tolerance and reasonable structural design.
[0048] Example 4: This implementation, based on Example 1, modifies the thickness of the ultrathin film layer 3 and simulates the effect of the thickness variation on the absorbance. The absorbance curves are shown below when the thickness of the ultrathin film layer 3 varies from 0 to 20 nm. Figure 8 As shown, simulation results indicate that when there is no ultrathin film layer 3 (i.e., the thickness of ultrathin film layer 3 is 0), the average absorptivity in the near-infrared band is significantly reduced. This demonstrates the important role of ultrathin film layer 3 and also shows that the high absorption in the near-infrared band depends on the FP cavity resonance effect supported by the ultrathin film layer-dielectric layer-substrate layer structure design. When the ultrathin film layer 3 increases from 5 nm to 20 nm, the absorption peak in the near-infrared band undergoes a significant blue shift, leading to a decrease in the absorptivity in the near-infrared long-wave band, but at the same time, the absorptivity in the near-infrared short-wave band increases, maintaining a high overall absorption level. This further proves the rationality of the invented solar energy absorber structure design.
[0049] Example 5: This implementation, based on Example 1, modifies the thickness of dielectric layer 2 and simulates the effect of this thickness change on the absorbance. The absorbance curves are shown below when the thickness of dielectric layer 2 changes from 160 nm to 200 nm. Figure 9 As shown, simulation results indicate that with the increase of the thickness of the dielectric layer, its average absorption rate in the visible light band and near-infrared short-wave band decreases significantly, while its average absorption rate in the near-infrared long-wave band increases slightly. This further proves the rationality of the parameter settings of the solar absorber of the present invention.
[0050] Example 6: This implementation, based on Example 1, modifies the thickness of substrate 1 and simulates the effect of this thickness change on the absorption rate. When the thickness of substrate 1 changes from 360 nm to 400 nm, the absorption rate curve is as follows: Figure 10 As shown, simulation results indicate that when the thickness of the substrate 1 changes from 360nm to 400nm, the absorption effect of the solar energy absorber of the present invention is almost unaffected, which shows that the solar energy absorber of the present invention has good processing tolerance and reasonable structural design.
[0051] Example 7: This implementation, based on Example 1, changes the array period of the absorber unit and simulates the effect of the change in the array period on the absorption rate. When the array period of the absorber unit changes from 480nm to 520nm, the absorption rate curve is as follows... Figure 11 As shown, simulation results indicate that when the period of the structural unit changes from 480nm to 520nm, the absorption effect of the solar energy absorber of the present invention does not change significantly, which shows that the solar energy absorber of the present invention has good processing tolerance and reasonable structural design.
[0052] Example 8: This implementation, based on Example 1, changes the incident angle of sunlight and conducts simulation tests on the effect of the incident angle on the absorptivity. The color mapping diagram is as follows: Figure 12 As shown in the simulation results, the absorption effect is good within the incident angle range of 0° to 70°, which indicates that the solar energy absorber of the present invention has good wide-angle absorption performance.
[0053] Example 9: This implementation, based on Example 1, modifies the polarization angle of sunlight and simulates the effect of polarization angle on absorption rate. The color mapping diagram is shown below. Figure 13 As shown in the simulation results, the absorption rate of the absorber does not change significantly when the polarization angle is changed, and the solar energy absorber of the present invention is polarization insensitive as a whole.
[0054] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make many possible variations and modifications to the technical solutions of the present invention using the methods and techniques disclosed above, or modify them into equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, without departing from the spirit and technical essence of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent substitutions, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solutions of the present invention shall still fall within the protection scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.
Claims
1. A solar energy absorber, characterized in that: It includes multiple absorber units arranged in a periodic array. Each absorber unit includes a substrate layer (1), a dielectric layer (2), an ultrathin film layer (3), and at least one antenna (4) arranged sequentially from bottom to top. The substrate layer (1) is made of Ti material, the dielectric layer (2) is made of Al2O3 material, the ultrathin film layer (3) and the antenna (4) are both made of TiN material. The projection of the substrate layer (1), the dielectric layer (2) and the ultrathin film layer (3) onto the XOY plane is square, and the projection of the antenna (4) onto the XOY plane is circular.
2. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna (4) is provided in four parts, and the antenna (4) is arranged in a rectangular array on the ultrathin film layer (3).
3. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the substrate layer (1) ranges from 360 nm to 400 nm.
4. The solar energy absorber according to claim 3, characterized in that: The thickness of the substrate layer (1) is 380 nm.
5. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the dielectric layer (2) ranges from 160 nm to 200 nm.
6. The solar energy absorber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The thickness of the dielectric layer (2) is 180 nm.
7. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the ultrathin film layer (3) is 20 nm.
8. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna (4) has a diameter of 250 nm and a height of 200 nm.
9. The solar energy absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side lengths of the substrate layer (1), dielectric layer (2) and ultrathin film layer (3) are all 500 nm.
10. The solar energy absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The array period of the absorber unit is 500 nm.