A dual functional tunable terahertz metamaterial absorber based on vanadium dioxide

A dual-functional switchable metamaterial absorber (MMA) based on vanadium dioxide (VO2), which achieves flexible switching between broadband absorption and four-band absorption by adjusting the VO2 conductivity, was proposed. The device has a broadband absorption function when VO2 is in the metal phase, and the conductivity is 3 × 105 S m-1. Numerical simulation shows that the absorption rate of the device reaches over 90% in the frequency range of 3.36-6.98 THz. The absorber exhibits polarization insensitivity and wide-angle absorption to transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves. When VO2 is in the insulator phase, and the conductivity is 3 × 102 S m-1, the device switches to a narrowband absorber with a band-efficient absorption function. Numerical simulation shows that the device has an absorption rate of 99.7% at 2.39 THz, 98.3% at 2.83 THz, 95.6% at 3.84 THz, and 96.1% at 4.61 THz. It can be used as a sensor with high sensitivity. In addition, to verify the absorption mechanism of the absorber, we introduced impedance matching theory to analyze the device. Finally, the influence of structural parameters on the performance of resonators was investigated. Through the joint action of multi-layer structures, the proposed MMA concentrates broadband and narrowband absorption functions on one device, achieving flexible switching between tasks without changing the structure. The switchable metamaterial absorber designed through simple tuning methods has broad application prospects in stealth technology and thermal emitters. It provides a wide range of ideas for the design of terahertz functional devices.

A Theoretical Study of Armchair Antimonene Nanoribbons in the Presence of Uniaxial Strain Based on First-Principles Calculations

The optimized geometry and also the electronic and transport properties of passivated edge armchair antimonene nanoribbons (ASbNRs) are studied using ab initio calculations. Due to quantum confinement, the size of the bandgap can be modulated from 1.2 eV to 2.4 eV (indirect), when the width is reduced from 5 nm to 1 nm, respectively. This study focuses on nanoribbons with a width of 5 nm (5-ASbNR) due to its higher potential for fabrication and an acceptable bandgap for electronic applications. Applying uniaxial compressive and tensile strain results in a reduction of the bandgap of the 5-ASbNR film. The indirect to direct bandgap transition was observed, when introducing a tensile strain of more than +4%. Moreover, when a compressive strain above 9% is introduced, semi-metallic behavior can be observed. By applying compressive (tensile) strain, the hole (electron) effective mass is reduced, thereby increasing the mobility of charge carriers. The study demonstrates that the carrier mobility of ASbNR-based nanoelectronic devices can be modulated by applying tensile or compressive strain on the ribbons.

Effects of spin-orbit coupling on transmission and absorption of electromagnetic waves in strained armchair phosphorene nanoribbons

We compute the optical conductivity, both the imaginary and real parts of the dielectric constant, and the optical coefficients of armchair phosphorene nanoribbons under application of biaxial and uniaxial strains. The Kane-Mele model Hamiltonian has been applied to obtain the electronic band structure of phosphorene nanoribbons in the presence of a magnetic field. The effects of uniaxial and biaxial in-plane strain on the frequency behavior of the optical dielectric constant, and the frequency behavior of the optical absorption and refractive index of phosphorene nanoribbons have been studied, in terms of magnetic field, spin-orbit coupling and strain effects. Linear response theory and the Green's function approach have been exploited to obtain the frequency behavior of the optical properties of the structure. Moreover, the transmissivity and reflectivity of electromagnetic waves between two media separated by a phosphorene-nanoribbon layer are determined. Our numerical results indicate that the frequency dependence of the optical absorption includes a peak due to applying a magnetic field. Moreover, the effects of both in-plane uniaxial and biaxial strains on the refractive index of single-layer phosphorene have been addressed. Also, the frequency dependence of the transmissivity and reflectivity of electromagnetic waves between two media separated by armchair phosphorene nanoribbons for normal incidence has been investigated in terms of the effects of magnetic field and strain parameters. Both compressive and tensile strain have been considered for the armchair phosphorene nanoribbons in order to study the optical properties of the structure. In particular, the control of the optical properties of phosphorene nanoribbons could lead to extensive applications of phosphorene in the optoelectronics industry. Also, such a study of the optical properties of phosphorene nanoribbons has further applications in light sensors. Meanwhile, the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the optical absorption and transmissivity of electromagnetic waves in phosphorene nanoribbons could be a novel topic in condensed-matter physics.

High confidence plasmonic sensor based on photonic crystal fibers with a U-shaped detection channel

In order to improve the performance of optical fiber sensing and expand its application, a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) plasmonic sensor with a U-shaped channel based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is proposed. We have studied the general influence rules of structural parameters such as the radius of the air hole, the thickness of the gold film and the number of U-shaped channels using COMSOL based on the finite element method. The dispersion curves and loss spectrum of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode and the Y-polarization (Y-pol) mode as well as the distribution of the electric field intensity (normE) under various conditions are studied using the coupled mode theory. The maximum refractive index (RI) sensitivity achieved in the RI range of 1.38-1.43 is 24.1 μm RIU^-1, which corresponds to a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 10.0 nm, a figure of merit (FOM) of 2410 RIU^-1 and a resolution of 4.15 × 10^-6 RIU. The results show that the proposed sensor combines the SPR effect, which is extremely sensitive to changes in the RI of the surrounding medium and realizes real-time detection of the external environment by analyzing the light signal modulated by the sensor. In addition, the detection range and sensitivity can be extended by adjusting the structural parameters. The proposed sensor has a simple structure with excellent sensing performance, which provides a new idea and implementation method for real-time detection, long-range measurement, complex environment monitoring and highly integrated sensing, and has a strong potential practical value.

Tunable broadband absorber based on a layered resonant structure with a Dirac semimetal

With the development of science and technology, intermediate infrared technology has gained more and more attention in recent years. In the research described in this paper, a tunable broadband absorber based on a Dirac semimetal with a layered resonant structure was designed, which could achieve high absorption (more than 0.9) of about 8.7 THz in the frequency range of 18-28 THz. It was confirmed that the high absorption of the absorber comes from the strong resonance absorption between the layers, and the resonance of the localised surface plasmon. The absorber has a gold substrate, which is composed of three layers of Dirac semimetal and three layers of optical crystal plates. In addition, the resonance frequency of the absorber can be changed by adjusting the Fermi energy of the Dirac semimetal. The absorber also shows excellent characteristics such as tunability, absorption stability at different polarisation waves and incident angles, and has a high application value for use in radar countermeasures, biotechnology and other fields.

A Phenomenological Model for Electrical Transport Characteristics of MSM Contacts Based on GNS

Graphene nanoscroll, because of attractive electronic, mechanical, thermoelectric and optoelectronics properties, is a suitable candidate for transistor and sensor applications. In this research, the electrical transport characteristics of high-performance field effect transistors based on graphene nanoscroll are studied in the framework of analytical modeling. To this end, the characterization of the proposed device is investigated by applying the analytical models of carrier concentration, quantum capacitance, surface potential, threshold voltage, subthreshold slope and drain induced barrier lowering. The analytical modeling starts with deriving carrier concentration and surface potential is modeled by adopting the model of quantum capacitance. The effects of quantum capacitance, oxide thickness, channel length, doping concentration, temperature and voltage are also taken into account in the proposed analytical models. To investigate the performance of the device, the current-voltage characteristics are also determined with respect to the carrier density and its kinetic energy. According to the obtained results, the surface potential value of front gate is higher than that of back side. It is noteworthy that channel length affects the position of minimum surface potential. The surface potential increases by increasing the drain-source voltage. The minimum potential increases as the value of quantum capacitance increases. Additionally, the minimum potential is symmetric for the symmetric structure (Vfg = Vbg). In addition, the threshold voltage increases by increasing the carrier concentration, temperature and oxide thickness. It is observable that the subthreshold slope gets closer to the ideal value of 60 mV/dec as the channel length increases. As oxide thickness increases the subthreshold slope also increases. For thinner gate oxide, the gate capacitance is larger while the gate has better control over the channel. The analytical results demonstrate a rational agreement with existing data in terms of trends and values.

Tunable high-sensitivity sensing detector based on Bulk Dirac semimetal

This paper proposes a tunable sensing detector based on Bulk Dirac semimetals (BDS). The bottom-middle-top structure of the detector is a metal-dielectric-Dirac semimetal. The designed detector is simulated in the frequency domain by the finite element method (FEM). And the simulation results indicate that the detector achieves three perfect absorption peaks with absorptivity greater than 99.8% in the range of 2.4-5.2 THz. We analyze the cause of the absorption peak by using random phase approximation theory. The device exhibits good angular insensitivity in different incident angle ranges, and the three absorption peaks can reach 90% absorption rate when the incident angle is in the ranges of 0-60°. And when adjusting the Fermi level of BDS in the ranges of 0.1-0.5 eV, our detector can realize the frequency regulation of the ultra-wide range of 3.90-4.56 THz and realize multi-frequency controllable sensing while maintain the absorption efficiency above 96%. The detector has maximum sensitivity S of 238.0 GHz per RIU when the external environment of the refractive index changes from 1.0 to 1.8, and the maximum detection accuracy is 6.5. The device has broad development prospects in the field of space detection and high-sensitivity biosensing detection.

Highly sensitive sensing of a magnetic field and temperature based on two open ring channels SPR-PCF

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor comprising photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is designed for magnetic field and temperature dual-parameter sensing. In order to make the SPR detection of magnetic field and temperature effectively, the two open ring channels of the proposed sensor are coated with gold and silver layers and filled with magnetic fluid (MF) and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), respectively. The sensor is analyzed by the finite element method and its mode characteristics, structure parameters and sensing performance are investigated. The analysis reveals when the magnetic field is a range of 40-310 Oe and the temperature is a range of 0-60 °C, the maximum magnetic field sensitivity is 308.3 pm/Oe and temperature sensitivity is 6520 pm/°C. Furthermore, temperature and magnetic field do not crosstalk with each other's SPR peak. Its refractive index sensing performance is also investigated, the maximum sensitivity and FOM of the left channel sensing are 16820 nm/RIU and 1605 RIU^-1, that of the right channel sensing are 13320 nm/RIU and 2277 RIU^-1. Because of its high sensitivity and special sensing performance, the proposed sensor will have potential application in solving the problems of cross-sensitivity and demodulation due to nonlinear changes in sensitivity of dual-parameter sensing.

Two-channel photonic crystal fiber based on surface plasmon resonance for magnetic field and temperature dual-parameter sensing

In this paper, a dual-parameter sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed, which can be applied in detecting the magnetic field and temperature. In this sensor, two elliptical channels are designed on both sides of the fiber core. The left channel (Ch 1) is coated with gold film and filled with magnetic fluid (MF) to achieve a response to the magnetic field and temperature using SPR. The right channel (Ch 2) is coated with gold film as well as Ta₂O₅ film to improve the SPR sensing performance. Finally, Ch 2 is filled with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to achieve a response to the temperature. The mode characteristics, structural parameters and sensing performance are investigated by the finite element method. The results show that when the magnetic field is in the range of 50-130 Oe, the magnetic field sensitivities of Ch 1 and Ch 2 are 65 pm Oe^-1 and 0 pm Oe^-1, respectively. When the temperature is in the range of 17.5-27.5 °C, the temperature sensitivities of Ch 1 and Ch 2 are 520 pm °C^-1 and 2360 pm °C^-1, respectively. By establishing and demodulating a sensing matrix, the sensor can not only measure the temperature and magnetic field simultaneously but also solve the temperature cross-sensitivity problem. In addition, when the temperature exceeds a certain value, the proposed sensor is expected to achieve dual-parameter sensing without a matrix. The proposed dual-parameter SPR-PCF sensor has a unique structure and excellent sensing performance, which are important for the simultaneous sensing of multiple basic physical parameters.

Design of Ultra-Narrow Band Graphene Refractive Index Sensor

The paper proposes an ultra-narrow band graphene refractive index sensor, consisting of a patterned graphene layer on the top, a dielectric layer of SiO₂ in the middle, and a bottom Au layer. The absorption sensor achieves the absorption efficiency of 99.41% and 99.22% at 5.664 THz and 8.062 THz, with the absorption bandwidths 0.0171 THz and 0.0152 THz, respectively. Compared with noble metal absorbers, our graphene absorber can achieve tunability by adjusting the Fermi level and relaxation time of the graphene layer with the geometry of the absorber unchanged, which greatly saves the manufacturing cost. The results show that the sensor has the properties of polarization-independence and large-angle insensitivity due to the symmetric structure. In addition, the practical application of testing the content of hemoglobin biomolecules was conducted, the frequency of first resonance mode shows a shift of 0.017 THz, and the second resonance mode has a shift of 0.016 THz, demonstrating the good frequency sensitivity of our sensor. The S (sensitivities) of the sensor were calculated at 875 GHz/RIU and 775 GHz/RIU, and quality factors FOM (Figure of Merit) are 26.51 and 18.90, respectively; and the minimum limit of detection is 0.04. By comparing with previous similar sensors, our sensor has better sensing performance, which can be applied to photon detection in the terahertz band, biochemical sensing, and other fields.

High-Q refractive index sensors based on all-dielectric metasurfaces

Possessing fantastic abilities to freely manipulate electromagnetic waves on an ultrathin platform, metasurfaces have aroused intense interest in the academic circle. In this work, we present a high-sensitivity refractive index sensor excited by the guided mode of a two-dimensional periodic TiO2 dielectric grating structure. Numerical simulation results show that the optimized nanosensor can excite guided-mode resonance with an ultra-narrow linewidth of 0.19 nm. When the thickness of the biological layer is 20 nm, the sensitivity, Q factor, and FOM values of the nanosensor can reach 82.29 nm RIU-1, 3207.9, and 433.1, respectively. In addition, the device shows insensitivity to polarization and good tolerance to the angle of incident light. This demonstrates that the utilization of low-loss all-dielectric metasurfaces is an effective way to achieve ultra-sensitive biosensor detection.

Perfect Absorption of Fan-Shaped Graphene Absorbers with Good Adjustability in the Mid-Infrared

This paper presents a graphene metamaterial absorber based on impedance matching. A finite difference in time domain (FDTD) method is used to achieve a theoretically perfect absorption in the mid-infrared band. A basis is created for the multiband stable high absorption of graphene in the mid-infrared. The designed graphene absorber is composed of graphene, a dielectric layer, a gold plane, and a silicon substrate, separately. The incident source of mid-infrared can be utilized to stimulate multiband resonance absorption peaks from 2.55 to 4.15 μm. The simulation results show that the absorber has three perfect resonance peaks exceeding 99% at λ1 = 2.67 μm, λ2 = 2.87 μm, and λ3 = 3.68 μm, which achieve an absorption efficiency of 99.67%, 99.61%, and 99.40%, respectively. Furthermore, the absorber maintains an excellent performance with a wide incident angle range of 0°–45°, and it also keeps the insensitive characteristic to transverse electric wave (TE) and transverse magnetic wave (TM). The results above indicate that our perfect graphene absorber, with its tunability and wide adaptability, has many potential applications in the fields of biosensing, photodetection, and photocell.

Metamaterial Solar Absorber Based on Refractory Metal Titanium and Its Compound

Metamaterials refers to a class of artificial materials with special properties. Through its unique geometry and the small size of each unit, the material can acquire unique electromagnetic field properties that conventional materials do not have. Based on these factors, we put forward a kind of high absorption near-ultraviolet to near-infrared electromagnetic wave absorber of the solar energy. The surface structure of the designed absorber is composed of TiN-TiO2-Al2O3 with rectangles and disks, and the substrate is Ti-Al2O3-Ti layer. In the study band range (0.1–3.0 μm), the solar absorber’s average absorption is up to 96.32%, and the designed absorber absorbs more than 90% of the electromagnetic wave with a wavelength width of 2.577 μm (0.413–2.990 μm). Meanwhile, the designed solar absorber has good performance under different angles of oblique incident light. Ultra-wideband solar absorbers have great potential in light absorption related applicaitions because of their wide spectrum high absorption properites.

Grating Structure Broadband Absorber Based on Gallium Arsenide and Titanium

We designed a broadband absorber based on a multilayer grating structure composed of gallium arsenide and titanium. The basic unit is a grating structure stacked on top of a semiconductor of gallium arsenide and titanium metal. We used the finite difference time domain method to simulate the designed model and found that the absorber absorption efficiency exceeded 90% in the range from 736 nm to 3171 nm. The absorption efficiency near perfect absorption at 867 nm was 99.69%. The structure had good angle insensitivity, and could maintain good absorption under both the TE mode and TM mode polarized light when the incident angle of the light source changed from 0° to 50°. This kind of metamaterial grating perfect absorber is expected to be widely used in optical fields such as infrared detection, optical sensing, and thermal electronics.

Thermal tuning of terahertz metamaterial absorber properties based on VO2

We present a novel, structurally simple, multifunctional broadband absorber. It consists of a patterned vanadium dioxide film and a metal plate spaced by a dielectric layer. Temperature control allows flexible adjustment of the absorption intensity from 0 to 0.999. The modulation mechanism of the absorber stems from the thermogenic phase change properties of the vanadium dioxide material. The absorber achieves total reflection properties in the terahertz band when the vanadium dioxide is in the insulated state. When the vanadium dioxide is in its metallic state, the absorber achieves near-perfect absorption in the ultra-broadband range of 3.7 THz-9.7 THz. Impedance matching theory and the analysis of electric field are also used to illustrate the mechanism of operation. Compared to previous reports, our structure utilizes just a single cell structure (3 layers only), and it is easy to process and manufacture. The absorption rate and operating bandwidth of the absorber are also optimised. In addition, the absorber is not only insensitive to polarization, but also very tolerant to the angle of incidence. Such a design would have great potential in wide-ranging applications, including photochemical energy harvesting, stealth devices, thermal emitters, etc.

Multi-mode surface plasmon resonance absorber based on dart-type single-layer graphene

In this paper, a multi-mode surface plasmon resonance absorber based on dart-type single-layer graphene is proposed, which has the advantages of polarization independence, tunability, high sensitivity, high figure of merit, etc. The device consists of a top layer dart-like patterned single-layer graphene array, a thicker silicon dioxide spacer layer and a metal reflector layer, and has simple structural characteristics. The numerical results show that the device achieves the perfect polarization-independent absorption at the resonance wavelengths of λ I = 3369.55 nm, λ II = 3508.35 nm, λ III = 3689.09 nm and λ IV = 4257.72 nm, with the absorption efficiencies of 99.78%, 99.40%, 99.04% and 99.91%, respectively. The absorption effect of the absorber can be effectively regulated and controlled by adjusting the numerical values such as the geometric parameters and the structural period p of the single-layer graphene array. In addition, by controlling the chemical potential and the relaxation time of the graphene layer, the resonant wavelength and the absorption efficiency of the mode can be dynamically tuned. And can keep high absorption in a wide incident angle range of 0° to 50°. At last, we exposed the structure to different environmental refractive indices, and obtained the corresponding maximum sensitivities in four resonance modes, which are S I = 635.75 nm RIU-1, S II = 695.13 nm RIU-1, S III = 775.38 nm RIU-1 and S IV = 839.39 nm RIU-1. Maximum figure of merit are 54.03 RIU-1, 51.49 RIU-1, 43.56 RIU-1, and 52.14 RIU-1, respectively. Therefore, this study has provided a new inspiration for the design of the graphene-based tunable multi-band perfect metamaterial absorber, which can be applied to the fields such as photodetectors and chemical sensors.

The Structure Design and Photoelectric Properties of Wideband High Absorption Ge/GaAs/P3HT:PCBM Solar Cells

Using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, we designed an ultra-thin Ge/GaAs/P3HT:PCBM hybrid solar cell (HSC), which showed good effects of ultra-wideband (300 nm-1200 nm), high absorption, and a short-circuit current density of 44.7 mA/cm2. By changing the thickness of the active layer P3HT:PCBM, we analyzed the capture of electron-hole pairs. We also studied the effect of Al2O3 on the absorption performance of the cell. Through adding metal Al nanoparticles (Al-NPs) and then analyzing the figures of absorption and electric field intensity, we found that surface plasma is the main cause of solar cell absorption enhancement, and we explain the mechanism. The results show that the broadband absorption of the solar cell is high, and it plays a great role in capturing sunlight, which will be of great significance in the field of solar cell research.

A switchable terahertz device combining ultra-wideband absorption and ultra-wideband complete reflection

Terahertz functional devices have been instrumental in the development of terahertz technology. Moreover, the advent of metamaterials has greatly contributed to the advancement of terahertz devices. However, most of today's metamaterials in the terahertz band exhibit poor performance and are mono-functional. This greatly limits the scalability and application potential of the devices. To achieve diversification and tunability of device functionality, we propose a combination of metamaterial structures and vanadium dioxide film. A metamaterial absorber based on the thermotropic phase change material VO₂ has been designed. Flexible switching of absorption performance (complete reflection and ultra-broadband perfect absorption) can be achieved through temperature adjustment. Moreover, the perfectly absorbed bandwidth is a staggering 3.3 THz. The thermal tuning of spectral absorbance has a maximal range of 0.01 to 0.999. The shift in absorption properties is explained by the phase change process of vanadium oxide (MIT). The electric field intensity on the absorber surface at different temperatures was monitored and analysed as a way to correlate the VO₂ film phase transition process. The impedance matching theory is applied to explain the high level of absorption generated by the absorber. Finally, the effects of the structural parameters on the performance of the absorber are analysed. This work will have many applications in the terahertz field and offers a wide range of ideas for the design of terahertz-enabled devices.

Realization of 18.97% theoretical efficiency of 0.9 μm Thick c-Si/ZnO Heterojunction Ultrathin-film Solar Cells via Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhancement

In this work, we demonstrate that the performance of c-Si/ZnO heterojunction ultrathin-film solar cells (SCs) is enhanced by an integrated structure of c-Si trapezoidal pyramids on the top of c-Si...

Ultra Narrow Dual-Band Perfect Absorber Based on a Dielectric-Dielectric-Metal Three-Layer Film Material

This paper proposes a perfect metamaterial absorber based on a dielectric-dielectric-metal structure, which realizes ultra-narrowband dual-band absorption in the near-infrared band. The maximum Q factor is 484. The physical mechanism that causes resonance is hybrid coupling between magnetic polaritons resonance and plasmon resonance. At the same time, the research results show that the intensity of magnetic polaritons resonance is much greater than the intensity of the plasmon resonance. By changing the structural parameters and the incident angle of the light source, it is proven that the absorber is tunable, and the working angle tolerance is 15°. In addition, the sensitivity and figure of merit when used as a refractive index sensor are also analyzed. This design provides a new idea for the design of high-Q optical devices, which can be applied to photon detection, spectral sensing, and other high-Q multispectral fields.

A four-band and polarization-independent BDS-based tunable absorber with high refractive index sensitivity

A four-band terahertz tunable narrow-band perfect absorber based on a bulk Dirac semi-metallic (BDS) metamaterial with a microstructure is designed. The three-layer structure of this absorber from top to bottom is the Dirac semi-metallic layer, the dielectric layer and the metal reflector layer. Based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), we use the simulation software CST STUDIO SUITE to simulate the absorption characteristics of the designed absorber. The simulation results show that the absorption rate of the absorber is over 93% at frequencies of 1.22, 1.822, 2.148 and 2.476 THz, and three of them have achieved a perfect absorption rate of more than 95%. We use the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), impedance matching and other theories to analyze its physical mechanism in detail. The influence of the geometric structure parameters of the absorber and the incident angle of electromagnetic waves on the absorption performance has also been studied in detail. Due to the rotational symmetry of the structure, the designed absorber has excellent polarization insensitivity. In addition, the maximum adjustable range of absorption frequency is 0.051 THz, which can be achieved by changing the Fermi energy of BDS. We also define the refractive index sensitivity (S), which is 39.1, 75.4, 119.1 and 122.0 GHz RIU^-1 for the four absorption modes when the refractive index varies in the range of 1 to 1.9. This high-performance absorber has a very good development prospect in the frontier fields of bio-chemical sensing and special environmental detection.

Terahertz Broadband Absorber Based on a Combined Circular Disc Structure

To solve the problem of complex structure and narrow absorption band of most of today's terahertz absorbers, this paper proposes and utilizes the finite element (COMSOL) method to numerically simulate a broadband absorber based on a straightforward periodic structure consisting of a disk and concentric ring. The final results show that our designed absorber has an absorption rate of over 99% in the broadband range of 9.06 THz to 9.8 THz and an average of over 97.7% in the ultra-broadband range of 8.62 THz to 10 THz. The reason for the high absorption is explained by the depiction of the electric field on the absorber surface at different frequencies. In addition, the materials for the top pattern of the absorber are replaced by Cu, Ag, or Al, and the absorber still achieves perfect absorption with different metal materials. Due to the perfect symmetry of the absorber structure, the absorber is very polarization-insensitive. The overall design is simple, easy to process and production. Therefore, our research will offer great potential for applications in areas such as terahertz electromagnetic stealth, sensing, and thermal imaging.

Preparation of ZnO/Bi2O3 Composites as Heterogeneous Thin Film Materials with High Photoelectric Performance on FTO Base

In recent years, ZnO nanomaterials have achieved great performance in solar energy applications. How to synthesize a ZnO nanocomposite structure with high photoelectric conversion efficiency has become an urgent problem to solved. In this paper, a narrow band gap bismuth trioxide (Bi2O3) coated on a ZnO nanoarray by magnetron sputtering was used to prepare a composite heterojunction ZnO/Bi2O3. Studies have found that ZnO/Bi2O3 exhibits excellent photoelectric conversion performance. By preparing a composite heterostructure of ZnO/Bi2O3, it can effectively compensate for the insufficient absorption of ZnO in the visible light range and inhibit the recombination of carriers within the material. The influence of Bi2O3 thickness on the microstructure and electronic structure of the ZnO/Bi2O3 composite structure was explored and analyzed. The energy gap width of the composite heterostructure decreases with the increase in the Bi2O3 thickness on the surface of the ZnO nanorod array. At the same time, the conductive glass composite film structure is simple to prepare and is very environmentally friendly. The ZnO/Bi2O3 composite heterogeneous material prepared this time is suitable for solar cells, photodetectors, photocatalysis and other fields.

Ultra-wideband and wide-angle perfect solar energy absorber based on Ti nanorings surface plasmon resonance

Solar energy absorption is a very important field in photonics. The successful development of an efficient, wide-band solar absorber is an extremely powerful driver in this field. We propose an ultra-wideband (UWB) solar energy absorber composed of a Ti ring and SiO2-Si3N4-Ti thin films. In the range of 300-4000 nm, the wide band has an absorption efficiency of more than 90% and can reach 3683 nm, and it has four absorption peaks with a high absorptivity. Moreover, the weighted average absorption efficiency of the solar absorber under AM 1.5 is maintained above 97.03%, which indicates it has great potential for use in the field of solar energy absorption. Moreover, we proved that the polarization is insensitive by analyzing the absorption characteristics at arbitrary polarization angles. For both the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes, the UWB absorption is maintained at more than 90% in the wide incidence angle range of 60°. The UWB solar energy absorber has great potential for use in a variety of applications, such as converting solar light and heat into electricity for public use and reducing the side effects of coal-fired power generation. It can also be used in information detection and infrared thermal imaging owing to its UWB characteristics.

Ultra-Wideband and Wide-Angle Perfect Solar Energy Absorber Based on Titanium and Silicon Dioxide Colloidal Nanoarray Structure

In this paper, we designed an ultra-wideband solar energy absorber and approved it numerically by the finite-difference time-domain simulation. The designed solar energy absorber can achieve a high absorption of more than 90% of light in a continuous 3.506 μm (0.596 μm-4.102 μm) wavelength range. The basic structure of the absorber is based on silicon dioxide colloidal crystal and Ti. Since the materials have a high melting point, the designed solar energy absorber can work normally under high temperature, and the structure of this solar energy absorber is simpler than most solar energy absorbers fabricated with traditional metal. In the entire wavelength band researched, the average absorption of the colloidal crystal-based solar energy absorber is as high as 94.3%, demonstrating an excellent performance under the incidence light of AM 1.5 solar spectrum. In the meantime, the absorption spectrum of the solar energy absorber is insensitive to the polarization of light. In comparison to other similar structures, our designed solar energy absorber has various advantages, such as its high absorption in a wide spectrum range and that it is low cost and easy to make.

Broadband Solar Absorber Based on Square Ring cross Arrays of ZnS

Solar energy is an inexhaustible clean energy. However, how to improve the absorption efficiency in the visible band is a long-term problem for researchers. Therefore, an electromagnetic wave absorber with an ultra-long absorption spectrum has been widely considered by researchers of optoelectronic materials. A kind of absorbing material based on ZnS material is presented in this paper. Our purpose is for the absorber to achieve a good and wide spectrum of visible light absorption performance. In the wide spectrum band (553.0 THz-793.0 THz) of the absorption spectrum, the average absorption rate of the absorber is above 94%. Using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and gap surface plasmon mode, the metamaterial absorber was studied in visible light. In particular, the absorber is insensitive to both electric and magnetic absorption. The absorber can operate in complex electromagnetic environments and at high temperatures. This is because the absorber is made of refractory metals. Finally, we discuss and analyze the influence of the parameters regulating the absorber on the absorber absorption efficiency. We have tried to explain why the absorber can produce wideband absorption.

Band engineering of Dirac materials in SbmBin lateral heterostructures

Band engineering the electronic structures of Sb_mBi_n lateral heterostructures (LHS) from antimonene and bismuthene is systematically investigated using first principles calculations. The spin–orbit coupling is found to be crucial in determining electronic structures of Sb_mBi_n LHS. The results indicate that these lateral heterostructures have a type-II band alignment which can be easily tuned using their size and tensile strain. The band gap tends to zero when the lateral heterostructure size is larger than a critical value, which intrinsically corresponds to a semiconductor-to-semimetal transition. The band inversion near the Γ point occurs under suitable tensile strain, indicating that Sb_mBi_n LHS are very promising to realize quantum spin Hall effects.

Band engineering the electronic structures of Sb_mBi_n lateral heterostructures (LHS) from antimonene and bismuthene is systematically investigated using first principles calculations.

Electronic and optical properties of boron phosphide/blue phosphorus heterostructures

The dynamically stable boron-phosphide/blue-phosphorus heterostructures are a good UV absorber while being transparent in the visible region.

Arsenene nanoribbon edge-resolved strong magnetism

Edge-resolved strong magnetism in arsenene nanoribbon is attributed to electron entrapment induced by edge bond contraction and potential deepening.