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Spectrally selective Cr x O y∕ Cr∕ Cr 2 O 3 multilayer absorber coatings were deposited on copper (Cu) substrates using a pulsed sputtering system. The Cr targets were sputtered using asymmetric bipolar-pulsed dc generators in Ar+ O 2 and Ar plasmas to deposit a Cr x O y (bottom layer)∕ Cr∕ Cr 2 O 3 (top layer) coating. The compositions and thicknesses of the individual component layers have been optimized to achieve high absorptance (0.899–0.912) and low emittance (0.05–0.06). The x-ray diffraction data in thin film mode showed that the Cr x O y∕ Cr∕ Cr 2 O 3 coating consists of an amorphous phase; the Raman data of the coating, however, showed the presence of A 1 g and E g modes, characteristic of Cr 2 O 3⁠. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data from near-surface region of the absorber suggested that the chemical state of Cr was in the form of Cr 3+ and no phases of Cr O 2 and Cr O …