Solar thermal characterization of micropatterned high temperature selective surfaces

We present measured optical absorptivity, emissivity, and maximum solar-heated temperatures for micropatterned molybdenum. The molybdenum samples were fabricated using laser micromachining and characterized using an integrating sphere and an infrared microscope. In-air solar simulator-heated temperature results for the molybdenum samples with different microstructures are presented, and COMSOL modeling is then used to predict in-vacuum maximum temperatures. A vacuum chamber was developed to reduce the convection heat loss with a mount designed to minimize conduction loss, and a maximum measured temperature of 413°C was obtained.