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A voltage-controllable VO2 based metamaterial perfect absorber for CO2 gas sensing application
Xiaocan Xu1, Ruijia Xu1, Yu-Sheng Lin1
1School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China. linyoush@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Nanoscale
|February 3, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a voltage-controlled device for sensing carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. It integrates a vanadium dioxide (VO2) metamaterial perfect absorber with a microheater for efficient infrared applications.
Area of Science:
- Metamaterials
- Nanophotonics
- Gas Sensing
Background:
- Vanadium dioxide (VO2) metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPAs) show promise for gas molecule sensing.
- Temperature-based tuning of MPAs is incompatible with electronic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a voltage-controllable device for CO2 gas sensing by integrating an MPA with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microheater.
- To enable efficient and switchable optical properties for infrared applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of an H-shaped metamaterial MPA using a metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) structure with a VO2 central bar.
- Integration of a fractal-patterned MEMS microheater for uniform heating.
- Application of DC bias voltage to control MPA temperature and optical properties.
Main Results:
- The MPA exhibits perfect absorption at 2.70 μm within the CO2 absorption spectrum.
- The integrated microheater provides high heating temperature and surface uniformity.
- Switchable optical properties with high efficiency were achieved via voltage control.
Conclusions:
- The proposed device offers a voltage-controllable strategy for CO2 gas sensing.
- This approach opens avenues for infrared sensors, absorbers, switches, and programmable devices.
