  In this paper, we study the solar selective absorbing properties of metal
nanowire array (NWA) / anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) composites at 1000 K via
numerical simulation. The materials and structural parameters which influence
the wavelength absorption between 0.28 and 10 microns are simulated and
optimized. The results reveal that W NWA / AAO composites with nanowire length
of 7.3 microns, fill factor of 0.03, and AAO template thickness of 0.1 microns
exhibits the best selective absorption. This composite has 0.90 solar
absorptivity and 0.045 thermal emissivity in 1000 K, and shows a photothermal
conversion efficiency of 71.5 %.
