Preparation and characterization of Si/SiO2 one-dimensional photonic crystal with ultra-low infrared emissivity in the 3–5 μm band

Abstract

Si/SiO2 one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPC) with ultra-low infrared emissivity in the 3–5 μm band was successfully prepared by alternating deposition Si layer and SiO2 layer on the quartz substrate via the high vacuum electron beam coating technology. The microstructure and spectral emissivity of the photonic crystal were tested by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The microstructure measure result shows that the as-prepared 1DPC has obvious multilayer structural characteristics, and the thicknesses of Si layer and SiO2 layer are basically the same as the design values. The test result of spectral emissivity shows that the average infrared emissivity in the 3–5 μm band of the as-prepared 1DPC can be as low as 0.076, which can fully reach the low emissivity level of conventional precious metal films. The results of this paper show that ultra-low infrared emissivity materials can still be prepared via a reasonable one-dimensional photonic structural design.