Metallic Light Absorbers Produced by Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Abstract

Using high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses for surface structuring, technologically important metallic light absorbers (dark Au, W, and Ti alloy) with absorption of about 85–95% over a broad wavelength range from ultraviolet to infrared were produced. It was found that the enhanced absorption of the dark metals is caused by a rich variety of nano-/microscale surface structures. The dark metals produced in this study may find a variety of applications in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency, such as thermophotovoltaics, solar energy absorbers, thermal radiation sources, and radiative heat transfer devices.