THz broadband and dual-channel perfect absorbers based on patterned graphene and vanadium dioxide metamaterials

This paper proposes a novel and perfect absorber based on patterned graphene and vanadium dioxide hybrid metamaterial, which can not only achieve wide-band perfect absorption and dual-channel absorption in the terahertz band, but also realize their conversion by adjusting the temperature to control the metallic or insulating phase of VO₂. Firstly, the absorption spectrum of the proposed structure is analyzed without graphene, where the absorption can reach as high as 100% at one frequency point (f = 5.956 THz) when VO₂ is in the metal phase. What merits attention is that the addition of graphene above the structure enhances the almost 100% absorption from one frequency point (f = 5.956 THz) to a wide frequency band, in which the broadband width records 1.683 THz. Secondly, when VO₂ is the insulating phase, the absorption of the metamaterial structure with graphene outperforms better, and two high absorption peaks are formed, logging 100% and 90.7% at f₃ = 5.545 THz and f₄ = 7.684 THz, respectively. Lastly, the adjustment of the Fermi level of graphene from 0.8 eV to 1.1 eV incurs an obvious blueshift of the absorption spectra, where an asynchronous optical switch can be achieved at fK₁ = 5.782 THz and fK₂ = 6.898 THz. Besides, the absorber exhibits polarization sensitivity at f₃ = 5.545 THz, and polarization insensitivity at f₄ = 7.684 THz with the shift in the polarization angle of incident light from 0° to 90°. Accordingly, this paper gives insights into the new method that increases the high absorption width, as well as the great potential in the multifunctional modulator.