Thermally switching between perfect absorber and asymmetric transmission in vanadium dioxide-assisted metamaterials

A high-performance ultra-wideband metasurface absorber and thermal emitter for solar energy harvesting and thermal applications

Solar radiation is the Earth's most plentiful renewable energy source. Metasurface-based nanostructures can store solar energy efficiently and exhibit consistent behavior when interacting with light waves. This study investigates an ultra-thin, ultra-wideband solar absorber and thermal emitter that operates in the 400-5000 nm spectrum. The proposed structure design consists of a thin MXene monolayer at the top, followed by a nickel-made fractal L-shaped resonator film mounted on a SiO2 substrate. This device achieves greater than 90% of the aggregative absorption over the 4133 nm ultra-wideband region ranging from 867 nm to 5000 nm. Within its operational band, the solar absorber exhibits excellent solar energy storage capabilities under the solar AM 1.5 model curve. Furthermore, the absorber structure maintains a stable thermal radiation efficiency of 94.5-95.5% over the temperature range of 300-700 K. In addition, the physical mechanism underlying the device's ultra-wideband high absorption characteristics is adequately explained using impedance matching theory and the distribution of surface current density at high absorption wavelengths. The proposed structure design's symmetry shows excellent resilience to polarization state variations as well as wide angular stability to maintain high absorption rate. Given all of these advantages, the proposed structure would be highly suitable for solar energy and thermal radiation applications.

Actively tunable and switchable terahertz metamaterials with multi-band perfect absorption and polarization conversion

In this paper, we theoretically present and numerically demonstrate an actively tunable and switchable multi-functional metamaterial based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) and graphene in the terahertz region. When VO2 is in the metallic phase, the proposed metamaterial serves as a multi-band perfect absorber, which exhibits the characteristics of insensitive polarization and robust tolerance for variations of the incidence angle. When VO2 is in the insulator phase, the proposed metamaterial acts as a polarization converter, which can simultaneously achieve perfect linear-to-linear and linear-to-circular polarization conversions. The simulation results show the cross-polarization conversion rate can reach ∼100% at the frequency region from 6.09 to 6.43 THz as well as 8.15 THz. Moreover, the ellipticity of linear-to-circular polarization conversion reaches ±1 at frequencies of 5.75 and 8.34 THz, respectively, which means the linear polarization waves can be completely converted into circular polarization waves. The proposed metamaterial provides new insight for the design of optoelectronic devices with multi-functionality in the terahertz region.

Plasmonic switches based on VO2as the phase change material

In this paper, a comprehensive review of the recent advancements in the design and development of plasmonic switches based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) is presented. Plasmonic switches are employed in applications such as integrated photonics, plasmonic logic circuits and computing networks for light routing and switching, and are based on the switching of the plasmonic properties under the effect of an external stimulus. In the last few decades, plasmonic switches have seen a significant growth because of their ultra-fast switching speed, wide spectral tunability, ultra-compact size, and low losses. In this review, first, the mechanism of the semiconductor to metal phase transition in VO2is discussed and the reasons for employing VO2over other phase change materials for plasmonic switching are described. Subsequently, an exhaustive review and comparison of the current state-of-the-art plasmonic switches based on VO2proposed in the last decade is carried out. As the phase transition in VO2can be activated by application of temperature, voltage or optical light pulses, this review paper has been categorized into thermally-activated, electrically-activated, and optically-activated plasmonic switches based on VO2operating in the visible, near-infrared, infrared and terahertz frequency regions.

Switchable asymmetric transmission with broadband polarization conversion in vanadium dioxide-assisted terahertz metamaterials

In this paper, we theoretically present a vanadium dioxide (VO2)-integrated metamaterial, which can achieve switchable single- and double-band asymmetric transmission (AT) in terahertz regions. When VO2 acts as a metal, the presented metamaterial device exhibits a single-band AT effect. In contrast, when VO2 transitions from the metal to the insulating state, a dual-band AT effect can be realized for the presented metamaterials. Also, it is demonstrated that there is a broadband near-perfect orthogonal polarization conversion associated with the AT effect. And the operating mechanisms are elucidated by using the Fabry-Pérot-like cavity model and the electromagnetic field distributions. Moreover, the presented nanostructure exhibits a robust tolerance for the incidence angle. Our designed metamaterial may have potential applications for switchable multi-functional devices in terahertz regimes.

Terahertz absorber based on vanadium dioxide with high sensitivity and switching capability between ultra-wideband and ultra-narrowband

The terahertz perfect absorber can be applied in the control, sensing and modulation of optical fields in micro- and nanostructures. However, they are only single function, complex device structure and low sensing sensitivity. Based on this, by introducing the bound state in the continuum (BIC) with infinite quality factor and field enhancement effect, and taking advantage of the phase transition characteristics of vanadium dioxide (VO2), we designed a terahertz perfect absorber device which can actively switch between ultra-wideband and ultra-narrowband. The absorption mechanism is explained by multipole analysis theory, impedance matching theory and electromagnetic field distribution. The broadband absorption is mainly due to the electric dipole resonance on metallic VO2 materials, and the absorption is more than 99% across 3.64-6.96 THz, and it has excellent characteristics such as robustness. Ultra-narrowband perfect absorption has a quality factor greater than 2200 due mainly to the implementation of symmetrically protected BIC with a sensing sensitivity of 2.575 THz per RIU. Therefore, this research could be widely used in the fields of integrated optical circuits, optoelectronic sensing and perceptual modulation of energy, as well as providing additional design ideas for the design of terahertz multifunctional devices.

Dual-band chirality-selective absorbing by plasmonic metasurfaces with breaking mirror and rotational symmetry

In this work, we proposed a state-of-the-art metasurface model that breaks the mirror symmetry and rotation symmetry of the structure. It consists of two-layer rotating gold split rings, and has the capability of chirality-selective absorption for circularly polarized light (CPL) in two bands. The absorption peaks for left- and right- circularly polarized (LCP&RCP) light appeared at 989 nm and 1404 nm, respectively, with the maximum absorptivity of 98.5% and 96.3%, respectively. By changing the rotation angle of the two-layer gold split rings, it could also be designed as a single-band chiral metasurface absorber, which only absorbed RCP light but not LCP light, and the absorptivity of RCP light could be up to 97.4%. Furthermore, we found our designed absorbers had the characteristics of great circular dichroism (CD) and symmetric absorption. The physical mechanism of the selective absorption of CPL by the absorbers may be explained by the current vector analysis. In addition, the absorption peak could be tuned with the changing of the geometrical parameters of the structure. The proposed chirality-selective metasurface absorbers could be used in CD spectral detection, optical communication, optical filtering, and other fields.

Tunable multifunctional polarization conversion in bilayer chiral metamaterials

A chiral metamaterial composed of bilayer twisted split-ring resonators is proposed and demonstrated to realize tunable, dual-directional, and multifunctional polarization conversion for terahertz waves. Simulations show that the converter can selectively achieve linear-to-linear, linear-to-right-handed circular, or linear-to-left-handed circular polarization conversion by tuning the polarization and propagating direction of the incident waves. Stokes parameters, ellipticity, and a polarization rotation angle are introduced to determine the output polarization. The circular polarization transmission coefficients and surface current distribution are employed to demonstrate the physical mechanisms of the phenomena above. The proposed converter can find potential applications in terahertz imaging and communications.

Active Control and Sensing Application of Ultra-Narrowband Circular Dichroism in Multilayer Chiral Nanorod Arrays

Narrowband circular dichroism (CD) has attracted wide attention for its high sensitivity in detecting chiral molecules and catalysis. However, designing a chiral metasurface with excellent sensing performance that can be dynamically tuned still poses challenges. This paper introduces lithium niobate, an electrically tunable material, and a distributed Bragg reflector into chiral nanorod structures to form multilayer chiral nanorod arrays (MCNAs). Simulation results show that MCNAs can generate four strong ultra-narrowband (UNB) CD signals in the visible light spectrum. The UNB CD signal intensity was up to 0.86, and the minimum full width at half-maximum (FWHM) was up to 0.21 nm. The surface electric field and current distribution of MCNAs indicate that the four UNB CD signals mainly originate from the x and y direction Tamm resonances in the chiral nanorod layer. The refractive index of lithium niobate can be tuned by changing the electric field, allowing the active tuning of UNB CD signals. In addition, the sensing performance of MCNAs in the SARS-CoV-2 solution was analyzed, and the figure of merit (FOM) can reach an astonishing 2092. These findings not only assist with the design of UNB chiral devices but also offer new possibilities for the environmental monitoring and ultrasensitive detection of chiral molecules.

Spin-dependent and tunable perfect absorption in a Fabry-Perot cavity containing a multi-Weyl semimetal

Spin-dependent absorption has been widely studied in metamaterials and metasurfaces with chirality since it develops significant applications in multiplexed holograms, photodection, and filtering. Here, the one-dimensional photonic crystal Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity containing a multi-Weyl semimetal (mWSM) defect is proposed to investigate the spin-dependent perfect absorption. Results denote that the distinct refractive indices of right hand circularly polarized (RCP) and left hand circularly polarized (LCP) waves are present due to the nonzero off-diagonal term of mWSM, thus supporting the perfect absorption of RCP and LCP waves at distinct resonant wavelengths. The different perfect absorption wavelengths of RCP and LCP waves reveal the spin-dependent perfect absorption. By altering the Fermi energy, tilt degree of Weyl cones, Weyl nodes separation, topological charge, and thickness of the mWSM layer, the perfect absorption wavelength of RCP and LCP waves can be regulated conveniently. Particularly, the linear tunable perfect absorption wavelength with thickness of the mWSM layer supports the accurate determination of perfect absorption wavelength at distinct mWSM thicknesses. Our studies develop simple and effective approaches to acquire the spin-dependent and adjustable perfect absorption without the external magnetic field, and can find practical applications in spin-dependent photonic devices.

Design of Plasmonic Photonic Crystal Fiber for Highly Sensitive Magnetic Field and Temperature Simultaneous Measurement

A high-sensitivity plasmonic photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensor is designed and a metal thin film is embedded for achieving surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which can detect the magnetic field and temperature simultaneously. Within the plasmonic PCF sensor, the SPR sensing is accomplished by coating both the upper sensing channel (Ch1) and the lower sensing channel (Ch2) with gold film. In addition, the temperature-sensitive medium polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is chosen to fill in Ch1, allowing the sensor to respond to the temperature. The magnetic field-sensitive medium magnetic fluid (MF) is chosen to fill in Ch2, allowing this sensor to respond to the magnetic field. During these processes, this proposed SPR-PCF sensor can achieve dual-parameter sensing. The paper also investigates the electrical field characteristics, structural parameters and sensing performance using COMSOL. Finally, under the magnetic field range of 50-130 Oe, this sensor has magnetic field sensing sensitivities of 0 pm/Oe (Ch1) and 235 pm/Oe (Ch2). In addition, this paper also investigates the response of temperature. Under the temperature range of 20-40 °C, Ch1 and Ch2 have temperature sensitivities of -2000 pm/°C and 0 pm/°C, respectively. It is noteworthy that the two sensing channels respond to only a single physical parameter; this sensing performance is not common in dual-parameter sensing. Due to this sensing performance, it can be found that the magnetic field and temperature can be detected by this designed SPR-PCF sensor simultaneously without founding and calculating a sensing matrix. This sensing performance can solve the cross-sensitivity problem of magnetic field and temperature, thus reducing the measurement error. Since it can sense without a matrix, it further can solve the ill-conditioned matrix and nonlinear change in sensitivity problems in dual-parameter sensing. These excellent sensing capabilities are very important for carrying out multiparameter sensing in complicated environments.

Ultra-Wideband High-Efficiency Solar Absorber and Thermal Emitter Based on Semiconductor InAs Microstructures

Since the use of chemical fuels is permanently damaging the environment, the need for new energy sources is urgent for mankind. Given that solar energy is a clean and sustainable energy source, this study investigates and proposes a six-layer composite ultra-wideband high-efficiency solar absorber with an annular microstructure. It achieves this by using a combination of the properties of metamaterials and the quantum confinement effects of semiconductor materials. The substrate is W-Ti-Al2O3, and the microstructure is an annular InAs-square InAs film-Ti film combination. We used Lumerical Solutions' FDTD solution program to simulate the absorber and calculate the model's absorption, field distribution, and thermal radiation efficiency (when it is used as a thermal emitter), and further explored the physical mechanism of the model's ultra-broadband absorption. Our model has an average absorption of 95.80% in the 283-3615 nm band, 95.66% in the 280-4000 nm band, and a weighted average absorption efficiency of 95.78% under AM1.5 illumination. Meanwhile, the reflectance of the model in the 5586-20,000 nm band is all higher than 80%, with an average reflectance of 94.52%, which has a good thermal infrared suppression performance. It is 95.42% under thermal radiation at 1000 K. It has outstanding performance when employed as a thermal emitter as well. Additionally, simulation results show that the absorber has good polarization and incidence angle insensitivity. The model may be applied to photodetection, thermophotovoltaics, bio-detection, imaging, thermal ion emission, and solar water evaporation for water purification.

Effects of Film Thickness on the Residual Stress of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films Grown by Magnetron Sputtering

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) thin films of different thicknesses were prepared by regulating the deposition time (2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 h). The impact of deposition time on the microstructure, surface morphology, and cross-section morphology was investigated. The results showed that the grain size increased with the film thickness. Meanwhile, the influence of film thickness on the residual stress was evaluated by X-ray diffraction. The phenomenon of "compressive-to-tensile stress transition" was illustrated as the thickness increased. The change of dominant mechanism for residual stress was used for explaining this situation. First, the composition of residual stress indicates that growth stress play a key role. Then, the effect of "atomic shot peening" can be used to explain the compressive stress. Lastly, the increased grain size, lower grain boundary density, and "tight effect" in the progress of film growth cause tensile stress.

Ultra-Wideband and Narrowband Switchable, Bi-Functional Metamaterial Absorber Based on Vanadium Dioxide

A switchable ultra-wideband THz absorber based on vanadium dioxide was proposed, which consists of a lowermost gold layer, a PMI dielectric layer, and an insulating and surface vanadium dioxide layer. Based on the phase transition properties of vanadium dioxide, switching performance between ultra-broadband and narrowband can achieve a near-perfect absorption. The constructed model was simulated and analyzed using finite element analysis. Simulations show that the absorption frequency of vanadium dioxide above 90% is between 3.8 THz and 15.6 THz when the vanadium dioxide is in the metallic state. The broadband absorber has an absorption bandwidth of 11.8 THz, is insensitive to TE and TM polarization, and has universal incidence angle insensitivity. When vanadium dioxide is in the insulating state, the narrowband absorber has a Q value as high as 1111 at a frequency of 13.89 THz when the absorption is more excellent than 99%. The absorber proposed in this paper has favorable symmetry properties, excellent TE and TM wave insensitivity, overall incidence angle stability, and the advantages of its small size, ultra-widebands and narrowbands, and elevated Q values. The designed absorber has promising applications in multifunctional devices, electromagnetic cloaking, and optoelectronic switches.

Study on the Thermal Distribution Characteristics of a Molten Quartz Ceramic Surface under Quartz Lamp Radiation

More and more researchers are studying the heat transfer performance of aeronautical materials at high temperatures. In this paper, we use a quartz lamp to irradiate fused quartz ceramic materials, and the sample surface temperature and heat flux distribution were obtained at a heating power of 45~150 kW. Furthermore, the heat transfer properties of the material were analyzed using a finite element method and the effect of surface heat flow on the internal temperature field was investigated. The results show that the fiber skeleton structure has a significant effect on the thermal insulation performance of fiber-reinforced fused quartz ceramics and the longitudinal heat transfer along the rod fiber skeleton is slower. As time passes, the surface temperature distribution tends to stability and reaches an equilibrium state. The surface temperature of fused quartz ceramic increases with the increase in the radiant heat flux of the quartz lamp array. When the input power is 5 kW, the maximum surface temperature of the sample can reach 1153 °C. However, the non-uniformity of the sample surface temperature also increases, reaching a maximum uncertainty of 12.28%. The research in this paper provides important theoretical guidance for the heat insulation design of ultra-high acoustic velocity aircraft.

Ultra-Broadband Solar Absorber and High-Efficiency Thermal Emitter from UV to Mid-Infrared Spectrum

Solar energy is currently a very popular energy source because it is both clean and renewable. As a result, one of the main areas of research now is the investigation of solar absorbers with broad spectrum and high absorption efficiency. In this study, we create an absorber by superimposing three periodic Ti-Al₂O₃-Ti discs on a W-Ti-Al₂O₃ composite film structure. We evaluated the incident angle, structural components, and electromagnetic field distribution using the finite difference in time domain (FDTD) method in order to investigate the physical process by which the model achieves broadband absorption. We find that distinct wavelengths of tuned or resonant absorption may be produced by the Ti disk array and Al₂O₃ through near-field coupling, cavity-mode coupling, and plasmon resonance, all of which can effectively widen the absorption bandwidth. The findings indicate that the solar absorber's average absorption efficiency can range from 95.8% to 96% over the entire band range of 200 to 3100 nm, with the absorption bandwidth of 2811 nm (244-3055 nm) having the highest absorption rate. Additionally, the absorber only contains tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), and alumina (Al₂O₃), three materials with high melting points, which offers a strong assurance for the absorber's thermal stability. It also has a very high thermal radiation intensity, reaching a high radiation efficiency of 94.4% at 1000 K, and a weighted average absorption efficiency of 98.3% at AM1.5. Additionally, the incidence angle insensitivity of our suggested solar absorber is good (0-60°) and polarization independence is good (0-90°). These benefits enable a wide range of solar thermal photovoltaic applications for our absorber and offer numerous design options for the ideal absorber.

Triple-Band Surface Plasmon Resonance Metamaterial Absorber Based on Open-Ended Prohibited Sign Type Monolayer Graphene

This paper introduces a novel metamaterial absorber based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The absorber is capable of triple-mode perfect absorption, polarization independence, incident angle insensitivity, tunability, high sensitivity, and a high figure of merit (FOM). The structure of the absorber consists of a sandwiched stack: a top layer of single-layer graphene array with an open-ended prohibited sign type (OPST) pattern, a middle layer of thicker SiO₂, and a bottom layer of the gold metal mirror (Au). The simulation of COMSOL software suggests it achieves perfect absorption at frequencies of f_I = 4.04 THz, f_II = 6.76 THz, and f_III = 9.40 THz, with absorption peaks of 99.404%, 99.353%, and 99.146%, respectively. These three resonant frequencies and corresponding absorption rates can be regulated by controlling the patterned graphene's geometric parameters or just adjusting the Fermi level (E_F). Additionally, when the incident angle changes between 0~50°, the absorption peaks still reach 99% regardless of the kind of polarization. Finally, to test its refractive index sensing performance, this paper calculates the results of the structure under different environments which demonstrate maximum sensitivities in three modes: S_I = 0.875 THz/RIU, S_II = 1.250 THz/RIU, and S_III = 2.000 THz/RIU. The FOM can reach FOM_I = 3.74 RIU^-1, FOM_II = 6.08 RIU^-1, and FOM_III = 9.58 RIU^-1. In conclusion, we provide a new approach for designing a tunable multi-band SPR metamaterial absorber with potential applications in photodetectors, active optoelectronic devices, and chemical sensors.

An active tunable terahertz functional metamaterial based on hybrid-graphene vanadium dioxide

In this paper, we propose a switchable and tunable functional metamaterial device based on hybrid graphene-vanadium dioxide (VO₂). Using the properties of the metal-insulator transition in VO₂, the proposed metamaterials can enable switching between tunable circular dichroism (CD) and dual-band perfect absorption in the terahertz region. When VO₂ is in the insulator state, a polarization-selective single-band perfect absorption can be achieved for circularly polarized waves, thus resulting in a strong CD response with a maximum value of 0.84. When VO₂ acts as a metal, there is a tunable dual-band perfect absorption for the designed metamaterial device under the illumination of x-polarization waves. The operation mechanism behind the phenomena can be explained by utilizing the electric field distribution and the coupled mode theory. Moreover, the influences of the Fermi energy of graphene and geometrical parameters on the CD and absorption spectra are discussed in detail. Our proposed switchable and tunable metamaterial can provide a platform for designing versatile functional devices in the terahertz region.

Femtosecond laser-induced phase transition in VO2 films

VO₂ is a very promising material due to its semiconductor-metal phase transition, however, the research on fs laser-induced phase transition is still very controversial, which greatly limits its development in ultrafast optics. In this work, the fs laser-induced changes in the optical properties of VO₂ films were studied with a variable-temperature Z-scan. At room temperature, VO₂ consistently maintained nonlinear absorption properties at laser repetition frequencies below 10 kHz while laser-induced phase transition properties appeared at higher repetition frequencies. It was found by temperature variation experiments at 100 kHz that the modulation depth of the laser-induced VO₂ phase transition was consistent with that of the ambient temperature-induced phase transition, which was increased linearly with thickness, further confirming that the phase transition was caused by the accumulation of thermal effects of a high-repetition-frequency laser. The phase transition process is reversible and causes substantial changes in optical properties of the film, which holds significant promise for all-optical switches and related applications.

Dynamically electrical/thermal-tunable perfect absorber for a high-performance terahertz modulation

We present a high-performance functional perfect absorber in a wide range of terahertz (THz) wave based on a hybrid structure of graphene and vanadium dioxide (VO₂) resonators. Dynamically electrical and thermal tunable absorption is achieved due to the management on the resonant properties via the external surroundings. Multifunctional manipulations can be further realized within such absorber platform. For instance, a wide-frequency terahertz perfect absorber with the operation frequency range covering from 1.594 THz to 3.272 THz can be realized when the conductivity of VO₂ is set to 100000 S/m (metal phase) and the Fermi level of graphene is 0.01 eV. The absorption can be dynamically changed from 0 to 99.98% and in verse by adjusting the conductivity of VO₂. The impedance matching theory is introduced to analyze and elucidate the wideband absorption rate. In addition, the absorber can be changed from wideband absorption to dual-band absorption by adjusting the Fermi level of graphene from 0.01 eV to 0.7 eV when the conductivity of VO₂ is fixed at 100000 S/m. Besides, the analysis of the chiral characteristics of the helical structure shows that the extinction cross-section has a circular dichroic response under the excitation of two different circularly polarized lights (CPL). Our study proposes approaches to manipulate the wide-band terahertz wave with multiple ways, paving the way for the development of technologies in the fields of switches, modulators, and imaging devices.

Function switchable broadband wave plate based on the Au-VO2 hybrid metasurface

In recent years, the integration of active materials into a metasurface to achieve tunable devices has attracted much attention. Here, we design an Au-VO₂ hybrid metasurface, which can switch between quarter-wave plate and half-wave plate due to the phase transition of VO₂. At 298 K, the proposed structure acts as a quarter-wave plate in the 0.87-1.2 THz band, achieving the mutual conversion between linear polarization and circular polarization. Raising the temperature to 358 K, it works as a broadband half-wave plate in the range of 0.65-1.45 THz, with the reflective chirality preservation of circular polarization and the cross-polarization conversion of linear polarization. In the above cases, the response efficiencies are both above 90%. The switchable multifunction results from the tunable geometric phase of the metasurface, where the elaborately designed Au and VO₂ blocks separately bring the phase of π/2. Furthermore, the electric field and current density distributions are employed to explain the physical mechanisms leading to the different functions. Such an active broadband metasurface is expected to find applications in tunable and multifunction devices manipulating the polarization and phase of terahertz waves.

VO2-assisted multifunctional metamaterial for polarization conversion and asymmetric transmission

A VO₂-assisted temperature-controlled multifunctional metamaterial polarization converter with large asymmetric transmission (AT) is proposed by introducing a gold-VO₂ grating. The converter can be switched between reflection mode and transmission mode by controlling the phase transition. When VO₂ is in the metallic state, the converter works in reflection mode, converting the incident forward/backward linearly/circularly polarized waves into the cross-polarized waves, and the broadband polarization conversion rates (PCRs) can reach 90% with relative bandwidth of up to 91.1% and 87.5%, respectively; when VO₂ is in the insulating state, the converter shows giant AT effect for circularly polarized waves at 0.64 THz and 1.28 THz. The multifunctional polarization converter holds great potential in the fields of communication and imaging, which provides a new way to design optical devices such as polarizers, isolators.

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.

Nonlinear control of switchable wavelength-selective absorption in a one-dimensional photonic crystal including ultrathin phase transition material-vanadium dioxide

Based on the transfer matrix theory, I realize a nearly perfect wavelength-selective absorption of near-IR waves in a one-dimensional defective photonic crystal, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$(AB)^ND(BA)^M$$\end{document}(AB)ND(BA)M, containing a vanadium dioxide (VO\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$_2$$\end{document}2) phase transition layer as a defect. Firstly, the effect of the period numbers, N and M, on the absorption spectrum is studied to achieve a perfect absorption peak. It is shown that optimal period numbers of the structure to maximize the absorption peak are N = 7 and M = 16. Our results also indicate that a narrow-band, almost perfect absorption is achieved due to the symmetry of the structure with respect to VO\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$_2$$\end{document}2. Also, the absorption amount of the considered structure is about 50 times larger than that of a free-standing VO\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$_2$$\end{document}2. Furthermore, the absorption peak value and resonant wavelength can be continuously tuned while VO\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$_2$$\end{document}2 transits from semiconductor to metal phase at 340 K temperature. In addition, how different parameters such as the polarization and incident angle affect the absorption spectra is discussed. Finally, the nonlinear absorption spectra of the structure are graphically demonstrated beside the linear case. The current system can be applied in designing practical tunable optical devices such as IR sensors, limiters, and switches.

Reconfigurable multi-band water-graphene cascade metamaterial perfect absorbers loaded with vanadium dioxide

We demonstrate the perfect trapping of electromagnetic fields over multi-band frequencies through all-dielectric terahertz absorbers using water graphene cascade metamaterials. More specifically, the coating water layer greatly enhances the higher-order Fabry-Pérot resonant absorbing modes and can achieve more than 8 absorbing peaks with the absorptions exceeding 99% in the spectrum below 3 THz. Especially such multiple perfect absorbing bands can readily be reset when the proposed water-graphene metamaterial absorbers integrate with thermal controlled vanadium dioxide. Such a perfect absorbing capacity would also be valid for the wide angular illuminations with different polarizations, and the reconfigurable characteristics of graphene can also enable the dynamically tuning of the absorbing frequencies, offering great freedom of extensive applications in energy harvesting and wave manipulation.

Multifunctional analysis and verification of lightning-type electromagnetic metasurfaces

Aiming at the problems that most of the existing electromagnetic metasurfaces have single function and narrow application scope, a highly integrated lightning-type metasurface is proposed in this study. It can realize the functions of circular dichroism (CD), absorption of electromagnetic waves, broadband x-to-y cross polarization conversion (CPC) function, linear-to-circular polarization conversion (LTC-PC) function and asymmetric transmission (AT), and its functions are also analyzed and verified. The designed metasurface consists of the bottom grating structure, the lower SiO₂, the middle lightning-type graphene, the upper SiO₂, the top graphene and photosensitive silicon. Through numerical calculations, the CD of design can reach more than 85% at 4.22 THz. The function of bimodal absorption is achieved at 4.09 and 8.69 THz. At 7.41∼8.21 THz, the polarization conversion ratio (PCR) of the metasurface reaches more than 99%. Simultaneously, the function of LTC-PC can be formed when PCR is 50%. Finally, when the designed metasurface is in the transmissive state, the AT of design is close to 60% at 7.84 THz. This design provides a new design idea and method for biomedical detection, image processing, modulators, smart switches, optical diodes and other fields.

Tuning the Metal-Insulator Transition Properties of VO2 Thin Films with the Synergetic Combination of Oxygen Vacancies, Strain Engineering, and Tungsten Doping

Vanadium oxide (VO2) is considered a Peierls-Mott insulator with a metal-insulator transition (MIT) at Tc = 68° C. The tuning of MIT parameters is a crucial point to use VO2 within thermoelectric, electrochromic, or thermochromic applications. In this study, the effect of oxygen deficiencies, strain engineering, and metal tungsten doping are combined to tune the MIT with a low phase transition of 20 °C in the air without capsulation. Narrow hysteresis phase transition devices based on multilayer VO2, WO3, Mo0.2W0.8O3, and/or MoO3 oxide thin films deposited through a high vacuum sputtering are investigated. The deposited films are structurally, chemically, electrically, and optically characterized. Different conductivity behaviour was observed, with the highest value towards VO1.75/WO2.94 and the lowest VO1.75 on FTO glass. VO1.75/WO2.94 showed a narrow hysteresis curve with a single-phase transition. Thanks to the role of oxygen vacancies, the MIT temperature decreased to 35 °C, while the lowest value (Tc = 20 °C) was reached with Mo0.2W0.8O3/VO2/MoO3 structure. In this former sample, Mo0.2W0.8O3 was used for the first time as an anti-reflective and anti-oxidative layer. The results showed that the MoO3 bottom layer is more suitable than WO3 to enhance the electrical properties of VO2 thin films. This work is applied to fast phase transition devices.

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.

Ultra-Narrowband Anisotropic Perfect Absorber Based on α-MoO3 Metamaterials in the Visible Light Region

Optically anisotropic materials show important advantages in constructing polarization-dependent optical devices. Very recently, a new type of two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) material, known as α-phase molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO₃), has sparked considerable interest owing to its highly anisotropic characteristics. In this work, we theoretically present an anisotropic metamaterial absorber composed of α-MoO₃ rings and dielectric layer stacking on a metallic mirror. The designed absorber can exhibit ultra-narrowband perfect absorption for polarizations along [100] and [001] crystalline directions in the visible light region. Plus, the influences of some geometric parameters on the optical absorption spectra are discussed. Meanwhile, the proposed ultra-narrowband anisotropic perfect absorber has an excellent angular tolerance for the case of oblique incidence. Interestingly, the single-band perfect absorption in our proposed metamaterials can be arbitrarily extended to multi-band perfect absorption by adjusting the thickness of dielectric layer. The physical mechanism can be explained by the interference theory in Fabry–Pérot cavity, which is consistent with the numerical simulation. Our research results have some potential applications in designs of anisotropic optical devices with tunable spectrum and selective polarization in the visible light region.

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.

Tunable and switchable multi-functional terahertz metamaterials based on a hybrid vanadium dioxide-graphene integrated configuration

In this paper, an actively tunable and switchable multi-functional terahertz metamaterial device based on a hybrid vanadium dioxide (VO₂)-graphene integrated configuration is proposed. By transiting the phase of VO₂, the functions of the proposed device can be reversibly switched between asymmetric transmission (AT) and two different polarization conversions in the terahertz region. When VO₂ operates at the isolating state, the AT effect can be achieved with a maximum value of 0.34 for linearly polarized lights due to the excitation of enantiomerically sensitive plasmons in patterned graphene nanostructures. Furthermore, when VO₂ is transited from the isolating state to the conducting state, the metamaterial does not only exhibit a linear dichroism response but also perform linear-to-linear and linear-to-circular polarization conversions simultaneously. Specifically, the designed device behaves like a half-wave plate, where a linear polarization conversion ratio exceeds 96.5% at a frequency of 9.17 THz. Meanwhile, it acts as a quarter-wave plate which can convert the linear polarization light into left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized lights with high efficiencies at frequencies of 9.04 and 9.3 THz, respectively. Moreover, the performance of the designed structure can be actively controlled by adjusting the geometrical parameters and Fermi energy of graphene. This work provides a new avenue in developing multi-functional terahertz metamaterial devices.

Versatile polarization manipulation in vanadium dioxide-integrated terahertz metamaterial

Broadband and switchable versatile polarization metamaterial is crucial in the applications of imaging, sensing and communication, especially in the terahertz frequency. Here, we investigated versatile polarization manipulation in a hybrid terahertz metamaterial with bilayer rectangular rods and a complementary vanadium dioxide (VO₂) layer. The VO₂ phase transition enables a flexible switching from dual-band asymmetric transmission to dual-band reflective half-wave plate. The full width half maximum (FWHM) bandwidths of dual-band asymmetric transmission are 0.77 and 0.21 THz, respectively. The polarization conversion ratio (PCR) of the reflective metamaterial is over 0.9 in the frequency ranges of 1.01-1.17 THz and 1.47-1.95 THz. Angular dependences of multiple polarization properties are studied. The proposed switchable polarization metamaterial is important to the development of multifunctional polarization devices and multichannel polarization detection.

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.

Broadband perfect transparency-to-absorption switching in tilted anisotropic metamaterials based on the anomalous Brewster effect

Dynamically switchable light transmission/absorption functionality is highly desirable in sensing and functional devices. However, the operating bandwidth of the newly emerging schemes using resonant meta-structures is inherently limited. In this work, we design and numerically demonstrate a non-resonant tilted anisotropic metamaterial consisting of phase-change materials. When the phase transition of the phase-change material from amorphous phase to crystalline phase occurs, the functionality of the metamaterial can be switched from perfect transparency to perfect absorption for transverse-magnetic polarization under oblique incidence over a broad spectrum. Such a remarkable phenomenon originates in the anomalous Brewster effect, which enables broadband reflectionless transmission/absorption of light under the anomalous Brewster's angle. Moreover, gradient metamaterials exhibiting dynamically controllable functionality for incident light with an almost arbitrary wavefront are demonstrated. The proposed metamaterials are simple but highly efficient, which may find applications in sensing and advanced and intelligent optical devices.

Mutual circular polarization conversions in asymmetric transmission and reflection modes by three-layer metasurface with gold split-rings

Plasmonic metasurfaces can be used to replace traditional polarization devices for various integrated optical devices because of their novel polarization control ability on a subwavelength scale. In particular, the asymmetric transmission of circularly polarized light by anisotropic metasurface has attracted much attention recently. Here, a simple and effective circular polarization converter composed of three layers of rotated gold split-rings and a Si₃N₄ substrate is proposed, which is appropriate for both transmission and reflection modes. For transmission mode, it can convert left- and right- handed circularly polarized light into orthogonally polarized light in two adjacent bands with conversion efficiencies of 65% and 75%, respectively. For the reflection mode, the mutual conversion efficiencies can be up to 58% and 64%, respectively. Meanwhile, the structure has moderate asymmetric transmission and reflection efficiencies. The operating band of the metasurface can be adjusted continuously and linearly by changing the refractive index of the substrate. The dual-band asymmetric effects may contribute to information encoding and decoding for communication applications. As an ultra-thin planar optical element, the proposed metasurface can be used in integrated photonics, optical sensing, and other fields.

Ultra-narrowband resonant light absorber for high-performance thermal-optical modulators

Herein, a tunable thermal-optical ultra-narrowband grating absorber is realized. Four ultra-sharp absorption peaks in the infrared region are achieved with the absorption efficiency of 19.89%, 98.41%, 99.14%, and 99.99% at 1144.34 nm, 1190.92 nm, 1268.58 nm, and 1358.70 nm, respectively. Benefiting from an extremely narrow bandwidth (0.27 nm), a maximum Q-factor over 4400 is obtained for the absorber. Moreover, the spectral response can be artificially tuned by controlling the temperature via the strong thermo-optic effect of silicon resonator. The high absorption contrast ratio of 23 dB is demonstrated by only increasing the temperature by 10 °C, showing an order of magnitude better than that of the previously demonstrated performance in the infrared image contrast manipulation. Also, the absorption intensity can be precisely regulated via tuning the polarization state of incident light. Strong tunability extending to temperature and polarization states makes this metasurface promising for applications in a high-performance switch, notch filter, modulator, etc.