The effect of a thin Tantalum layer on the thermal stability of AlxOy/Pt/AlxOy multilayered selective solar absorber coatings has been investigated. The resulting samples were annealed at different temperatures for different durations in air. These were characterized by Xray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer and emissometer. The Cu/Ta/AlxOy/Pt/AlxOy multilayer solar absorber coatings were found to be thermally stable up to 700 degrees C in air for 2 h with good spectral selectivity (alpha/epsilon) of 0.932/0.10. At 800 degrees C, the spectral selectivity decreased to 0.870/0.12, which is attributed to the diffusion of Cu and formation of CuO phase. The formation of CuO phase was confirmed by X-rays diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Long term thermal stability study showed that the coatings were thermally stable in air up to similar to 550 degrees C for about 24 h. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.