Prajwal, K.Priyanka, G.L.Hasan, M.A.Carmel Mary Esther, A.Sridhara, N.Rajendra, A.Arya, S.B.Dey, A.2026-02-052021Surface Engineering, 2021, 37, 3, pp. 400-4052670844https://doi.org/10.1080/02670844.2020.1781376https://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/23529DC magnetron co-sputtering technique is utilised to develop reflective Ag- and Al-based metal films co-sputtered with Ni deposited on quartz glass substrates. The sputtered films are characterised by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques to investigate microstructure, topology and phase analysis, respectively. Further, average thermo-optical properties such as solar reflectance, absorptance and IR emittance and electrical property such as sheet resistance of the deposited films are evaluated. The reflectance property as a function of wavelength is also investigated. Sputtered Ag and Al films show high (>93%) reflectance, however, co-sputtered Al + Ni and Ag + Ni offer comparatively lesser value, e.g. 45% and 73%, respectively. The significant lower reflectance of Al + Ni is possibly due to the presence of higher amount of Ni in the film and the formation of intermetallic compounds. © 2020 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Institute.AluminumField emission microscopesMagnetronsMetallic filmsOptical propertiesReflectionScanning electron microscopySilverSubstratesDC magnetron co-sputteringDeposited filmsField emission scanning electron microscopyNanostructured metallic filmsQuartz glass substratesReflectance propertiesSolar reflectanceThermo-optical propertiesNickel