Abstract: A method for coating by thermal spraying a substrate for solar applications with a temperature-resistant and high-absorbance ceramic micro-structured coating includes the following steps: preparing a powder mixture including ceramic microparticles powder and polyester microballs powder, a percentage of the polyester microballs in the powder mixture being between 10 and 30% w/w; spraying the powder mixture onto the substrate by a thermal spray process in order to apply a coating layer on the substrate; and heating the substrate having the coating layer to a temperature of at least 400° C. so as to evaporate the microballs of polyester from the coating layer, leaving porosities at a place of the polyester microballs. Parameters of the spraying step and particle size are chosen so that the coating layer is applied in a thickness of between 50 and 150 microns.