Analysis of Tungsten-Alumina Nanocomposite Thin Films on SS304 Substrate

Abstract

Higher solar absorptance and lower thermal emittance are the key factors for solar collectors. The use of thin films that are having mechanically resistant coatings are common practice in industries. The primary motivation of carrying this research work is to lower thermal emittance and maximize solar absorptance on SS304 substrate material. W-Al2O3 composite coatings are developed using magnetron sputtering process by considering the process parameters. The experimental plan is achieved based on Taguchi L9 orthogonal under various levels for deposition parameters. The tungsten and alumina thin films deposited using a co-sputtering were characterized using 410 - solar instrument for measuring solar absorptance and ET 100 Emissometer for measuring thermal emittance. The optimization for process parameters on thermal emittance and absorptance were carried out. It was found that for deposition parameters of DC power 750W, RF power 1050W and Argon gas flow rate of 250 sccm, absorptance of 0.758 with thermal emittance of 0.061 is observed with deposition was carried out on SS304 substrates.