Polarization and angular insensitive bendable metamaterial absorber for UV to NIR range.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Broadband absorbers are crucial for efficient solar energy harvesting across the solar spectrum.
• Metamaterial absorbers (MMAs) are gaining interest for their ability to enhance photon absorption.
• Existing MMAs face challenges in achieving high, stable absorption over a wide spectral range.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a novel metal-insulator-metal (MIM) metamaterial absorber (MMA).
• To achieve near-unity broadband absorption for solar energy harvesting applications.
• To investigate the MMA's performance under varying conditions, including polarization, incident angle, and mechanical bending.

Main Methods:

• Computational simulation of a Ni-SiO2-Ni MIM structure using the Finite Integration Technique (FIT).
• Verification of simulation results using the Finite Element Method (FEM).
• Analysis of the MMA's absorption spectrum from 300 to 1600 nm and its response to polarization, incident angle, and mechanical stress.

Main Results:

• The proposed MMA exhibits near-unity broadband absorption from 300 to 1600 nm.
• Achieved an average absorption of 95.77% and a peak absorption of 99.999% at 772.82 nm.
• Demonstrated polarization insensitivity, wide incident angle stability, and satisfactory absorption under mechanical bending.

Conclusions:

• The Ni-SiO2-Ni MMA is a highly efficient broadband absorber suitable for solar energy harvesting.
• The MMA's robust performance under various conditions highlights its practical applicability.
• The proposed MMA design holds potential for diverse optical applications beyond solar energy, including sensors, detectors, and imaging.