Study of optical solar mirrors based on metamaterials

Zhao Song; Liu Yuxuan; Zhang Heng; Zhao Yali; Li Xufeng

doi:10.12086/oee.2024.240186

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Zhao S, Liu Y X, Zhang H, et al. Study of optical solar mirrors based on metamaterials[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2024, 51(11): 240186. doi: 10.12086/oee.2024.240186

Citation:

Zhao S, Liu Y X, Zhang H, et al. Study of optical solar mirrors based on metamaterials[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2024, 51(11): 240186. doi: 10.12086/oee.2024.240186

Study of optical solar mirrors based on metamaterials

1.
College of Applied Science, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030024, China
2.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jinzhong College, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030600, China

Fund Project: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62105131), Taiyuan University of Science and Technology Postgraduate Joint Cultivation Demonstration Base Project (JD2022007), and Jinzhong Municipal Science and Technology Key Research and Development Project (Y201027)

More Information

^*Corresponding authors: yaliz12@163.com; xfli@tyust.edu.cn
CSTR: 32245.14.oee.2024.240186

Received Date 10 August 2024

Revised Date 07 October 2024

Accepted Date 08 October 2024

Published Date 25 November 2024

Abstract

Abstract

A metamaterial-based optical solar reflector (OSR) consisting of a three-layer structure of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) metasurface, a MgF₂ dielectric layer and an Ag metal reflector layer is investigated. In the thermal infrared, the AZO metasurface excites the surface equipartition excitation resonance to enhance the electromagnetic absorption, the stability of the MgF₂ dielectric constant reduces the reflection caused by the absorption oscillations. In the visible light, the transparent properties of AZO and MgF₂ provide the low loss for the solar radiation, and the Ag reflector layer effectively suppresses the transmission. Simulation results show that the optimized OSR has a low solar absorptivity of 17.6% in 0.3~2.5 µm and a high IR emissivity of 86.5% in 2.5~30 µm. In addition, polarization and angle of incidence have a small effect on its performance. The structure achieves good absorption in the infrared band and also has potential applications in infrared thermography, radiative cooling, and other fields.
- metamaterial /
- optical solar reflector /
- surface plasmon polariton /
- electromagnetic absorption

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References

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Overview

Overview

Optical solar reflector (OSR), also known as a secondary surface mirror, has low absorption and high reflection of the solar spectrum in the 0.3~2.5 µm band, and strong absorption (emission) of the infrared spectrum in the 2.5~30 µm band. OSR is used on the outer surface of spacecraft radiator panels to reflect the solar spectrum radiation and radiate the heat from the radiator panels in the form of infrared, which plays a vital role in the thermal control of spacecraft.

The traditional OSR consists of quartz and metal reflective layers. Quartz has excellent optical and thermal properties; however, quartz is easy to break during processing, and the specific gravity increases the satellite launch cost. At present, our satellite thermal control coatings are mainly various paint-type white lacquers, which can meet the spaceflight requirements. However, the white paint has a large gap rate and is easily contaminated, leading to performance degradation. With the expanding depth and breadth of deep space exploration, the thermal control materials need to be adapted to the new space environment. It is difficult to find a natural material that combines both low absorption in the solar spectrum and high emission in the infrared, thus requiring the use of metasurfaces with artificially designed structures.

Currently, most of the research focuses on enhancing the IR emissivity or reducing the solar absorptivity alone, since both properties of a material are often jointly affected by its physical and spectral properties. When one parameter is increased, the other is also increased, which is detrimental to the OSR. In this paper, an OSR constructed from an AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide) metasurface, MgF₂ dielectric layer, and Ag metal reflective layer is designed by considering both properties simultaneously. The transparent properties of AZO and MgF₂ reduce the visible absorption and enable lower solar absorptivity. Most of the materials show strong perturbations in spectral absorption in the mid-infrared (MI) band, due to the complex dielectric constants. The trough position brings additional reflections, leading to a decrease in IR emissivity. At the same time, the stability of the dielectric constant of MgF₂ in the IR band does not affect its interference conditions as a λ/4 spacer, and the absorption bandwidth and stability ensure a high IR emissivity. The optimized OSR achieves a low solar absorptivity of 17.6% in the UV to NIR and an IR emissivity of 86.5% in the thermal IR band.