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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Simulation, Fabrication and Characterization of THz Metamaterial Absorbers
Published on: December 27, 2012
A universal electromagnetic energy conversion adapter based on a metamaterial absorber
Yunsong Xie1, Xin Fan1, Jeffrey D Wilson2
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716 USA.
Abstract:
On the heels of metamaterial absorbers (MAs) which produce near perfect electromagnetic (EM) absorption and emission, we propose a universal electromagnetic energy conversion adapter (UEECA) based on MA. By choosing the appropriate energy converting sensors, the UEECA is able to achieve near 100% signal transfer ratio between EM energy and various forms of energy such as thermal, DC electric, or higher harmonic EM energy. The inherited subwavelength dimension and the EM field intensity enhancement can further empower UEECA in many critical applications such as energy harvesting, photoconductive antennas, and nonlinear optics. The principle of UEECA is understood with a transmission line model, which further provides a design strategy that can incorporate a variety of energy conversion devices. The concept is experimentally validated at a microwave frequency with a signal transfer ratio of 96% by choosing an RF diode as the energy converting sensor.
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