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Emissivity of microstructured silicon
Patrick G Maloney1, Peter Smith, Vernon King
1U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Research, Development and Engineering Command, Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, Science and Technology Division, 10221 Burbeck Road Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060, USA. info@nvl.army.mil
Microstructured silicon surfaces exhibit tunable infrared emissivity, decreasing from 0.84 to 0.65 after measurement-induced annealing. This suggests potential applications in advanced optical and thermal management systems.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Surface Engineering
Background:
- Microstructured silicon surfaces offer unique optical properties.
- Understanding their thermal emissivity is crucial for applications like blackbody sources and microbolometers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure and calculate the spectral and total emissivity of microstructured silicon surfaces.
- To investigate the effect of measurement-induced annealing on emissivity.
- To model the use of these surfaces in blackbody and microbolometer applications.
Main Methods:
- Measured infrared transmittance and hemispherical-directional reflectance from 2.5 to 25 micrometers.
- Calculated spectral emissivity for the measured wavelength range.
- Determined hemispherical-total emissivity before and after annealing.
- Compared emissivity with silicon substrates and black paint.
Main Results:
- Spectral emissivity was calculated for microstructured silicon.
- Hemispherical-total emissivity decreased from 0.84 to 0.65 for a sulfur-doped sample after annealing.
- Secondary samples did not show a similar annealing effect, with reasons discussed.
- Emissivity values were plotted and compared to reference materials.
Conclusions:
- Microstructured silicon surfaces demonstrate tunable infrared emissivity.
- Measurement-induced annealing significantly alters emissivity, particularly in sulfur-doped samples.
- The findings support the potential use of microstructured silicon in thermal management and optical devices.
