A novel electrochemical process for the formation of solar selective absorber layers on aluminum is presented. The growth of an alumina laver and the incorporation of metal ions into the layer is done by a one-step procedure using only one electrolytic bath and application of a voltage pulse technique. The influence of selected electrical parameters on the solar selective properties is described and the enhanced stability of an absorber layer, attained by a sol-gel-posttreatment, is discussed. [S0199-6231(00)00602-X].