Environment-dependent Broadband Perfect Absorption of Metal-insulator-metal Metamaterial Systems

• Published in: Current optics and photonics Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 136 - 146
• Main Authors: Feng Li, Yulong Tang, Qingsong Peng, Guosheng Hu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Broadband absorption; Refractive index; Polarized wave; Metamaterial
• ISSN: 2508-7266; 2508-7274

Based on calculations using the macroscopic Maxwell's equations with mesoscopic boundary conditions, light absorption by a layered metal-insulator-metal (MIM) metamaterial system embedded in three different environments is investigated. Increasing the top metal thickness shifts the broad absorption band to lower dielectric-constant regions and longer wavelengths, for either TM or TE waves. Boosting the dielectric-layer thickness redshifts the broadband absorption to regions of larger dielectric constant. In air, for the dielectric-constant range of 0.86-3.40, the absorption of the system exceeds 98% across 680-1,033 nm. In seawater with optimized dielectric constant, ≥94% light absorption over 400-1,200 nm can be achieved; particularly in the wavelength range of 480-960 nm and dielectric-constant range of 0.82-3.50, the absorption is greater than 98%. In an environment with even higher refractive index (1.74), ≥98% light absorption over 400-1,200 nm can be achieved, giving better performance. The influence of angle of incidence on light absorption of the MIM system is also analyzed, and the angle tolerance for ≥90% broadband absorption of a TM wave is up to 40° in an environment with large refractive index. While the incident-angle dependence of the absorption of a TE wave is nearly the same for different circumstances, the situation is different for a TM wave.