Solar Energy Converter and Related Methods

A template for producing a solar device, comprising a substrate having a major surface comprising a plurality of indentations, each of the plurality of indentations having an opening at the major surface, wherein the openings are spaced less than 200 nm apart, and the opening of each of the plurality of indentations having a side length or a diameter ranging from 100 nm to 1000 nm.

A method of making a solar thermal absorbing device, comprising,

• a. depositing a metal layer onto a template, comprising a substrate having a major surface comprising a plurality of indentations, each of the plurality of indentations having an opening at the major surface (that is, coplanar with the major surface), wherein the openings are spaced less than 200 nm apart, and the opening of each of the plurality of indentations having a side length or a diameter ranging from 100 nm to 1000 nm, wherein the metal is deposited in an amount to fill in the indentations of the template and to produce a contiguous metal layer, optionally having a thickness of from 1 μM to 100 μM over at least a portion of the major surface of the template comprising the indentations;
• and
• b. releasing (e.g., peeling or delaminating) the deposited metal layer from the template to produce a metallic substrate having a major surface, comprising a plurality of protuberances on the major surface, each of the plurality of protuberance having a base having an edge or a diameter, and an apex, and tapering from the base to the apex, wherein the distance between the base of adjacent protuberances is less than 200 nm, and the diameter or an edge of the base ranges from 100 nm to 1000 nm.