In recent years we have learned to fabricate structures smaller than electromagnetic wavelengths, and to assemble them into metamaterials with exotic optical properties for previously unimaginable applications. One such property is perfect absorption of incident light, with no reflection or transmission, across many wavelengths. The authors review the physics, design principles, and classification of thin perfect absorbers, and outline avenues for progress.

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Thin perfect absorbers for electromagnetic waves: Theory, design, and realizations

We demonstrate that a broadband terahertz absorber with near-unity absorption can be realized using a net-shaped periodically sinusoidally-patterned graphene sheet, placed on a dielectric spacer supported on a metallic reflecting plate. Because of the gradient width modulation of the unit graphene sheet, continuous plasmon resonances can be excited, and therefore broadband terahertz absorption can be achieved. The results show that the absorber’s normalized bandwidth of 90% terahertz absorbance is over 65% under normal incidence for both TE and TM polarizations when the graphene chemical potential is set as 0.7 eV. And the broadband absorption is insensitive to the incident angles and the polarizations. The peak absorbance remains more than 70% over a wide range of the incident angles up to 60° for both polarizations. Furthermore, this absorber also has the advantage of flexible tunability via electrostatic doping of graphene sheet, which peak absorbance can be continuously tuned from 14% to 100% by controlling the chemical potential from 0 eV to 0.8 eV. The design scheme is scalable to develop various graphene-based tunable broadband absorbers at other terahertz, infrared, and visible frequencies, which may have promising applications in sensing, detecting, and optoelectronic devices.

Broadband absorber with periodically sinusoidally-patterned graphene layer in terahertz range.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/49/41/413002/pdf

Intrinsic and extrinsic doping of ZnO and ZnO alloys

The development of three-dimensional (3-D), characterisation techniques with high spatial and mass resolution is crucial for understanding and developing advanced materials for many engineering applications as well as for understanding natural materials. In recent decades, atom probe tomography (APT), which combines a point projection microscope and time-of-flight mass spectrometer, has evolved to be an excellent characterisation technique capable of providing 3-D nanoscale characterisation of materials with sub-nanometer scale spatial resolution, with equal sensitivity for all elements. This review discusses the current state, as of APT instrumentation, new developments in sample preparation methods, experimental procedures for different material classes, reconstruction of APT results, the current status of correlative microscopy, and application of APT for microstructural characterisation in established scientific areas like structural materials as well as new applications in semiconducting nano...

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Three-dimensional nanoscale characterisation of materials by atom probe tomography

Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessarily constitute undesired resistive heating problem for photovoltaics. Tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals and employing the natural bulk absorbance characteristics of the semiconductors in those absorbers can enable the exchange of undesired resistive losses with the useful optical absorbance in the active semiconductors. Thus, Ohmic loss dominated metamaterial absorbers can be converted into photovoltaic near-perfect absorbers with the advantage of harvesting the full potential of light management offered by the metamaterial absorbers. Based on experimental permittivity data for indium gallium nitride, we have shown that between 75%–95% absorbance can be achieved in the semiconductor layers of the converted metamaterial absorbers. Besides other metamaterial and plasmonic devices, our results may also apply to photodectors and other metal or semiconductor based optical devices where resistive losses and power consumption are important pertaining to the device performance.

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Exchanging Ohmic Losses in Metamaterial Absorbers With Useful Optical Absorption for Photovoltaics

Metamaterial terahertz absorbers composed of a frequency selective layer followed by a spacer and a metallic backplane have recently attracted great attention as a device to detect terahertz radiation. In this work, we present a quasistatic dynamic circuit model that can decently describe operational principle of metamaterial terahertz absorbers based on interference theory of reflected waves. The model comprises two series LC resonance components, one for resonance in frequency selective surface (FSS) and another for resonance inside the spacer. Absorption frequency is dominantly determined by the LC of FSS while the spacer LC changes slightly the magnitude and frequency of absorption. This model fits perfectly for both simulated and experimental data. By using this model, we study our designed absorber and we analyze the effect of changing in spacer thickness and metal conductivity on absorption spectrum.

Design and analysis of perfect terahertz metamaterial absorber by a novel dynamic circuit model

Applications of terahertz radiation include security imaging, nondestructive testing, novel spectroscopic applications, and skin cancer diagnostics. In this work, a ``stereometamaterial'' constructed from geometrically placed copper rings acts as a perfect absorber and exhibits rotationally asymmetric absorption behavior. Mimicking chiral molecules found in nature, this device offers new possibilities for customized functionality at terahertz frequencies.

Polarization-Dependent, Frequency-Selective THz Stereometamaterial Perfect Absorber

Polarization insensitive metamaterial perfect absorbers were investigated through finite element numerical method and a new equivalent-circuit electric model was proposed to interpret this polarization insensitivity. The devices were fabricated to validate the model and experimental measurements were shown to be in good agreement with the simulated results. This absorber device is suitable for future use in THz sensing and detection applications.

Equivalent-Circuit Interpretation of the Polarization Insensitive Performance of THz Metamaterial Absorbers

Wide-bandgap zinc oxide (ZnO) semiconductors and nanowires have become important materials for electronic and photonic device applications. In this work, we report the growth of well-aligned single-crystal ZnO nanowire arrays on sapphire substrates by chemical vapor deposition and the development of atom probe tomography, an emerging nanoscale characterization method capable of providing deeper insight into the three-dimensional distribution of atoms and impurities within its structure. Using a metal-catalyst-free approach, the influence of the growth parameters on the orientation and density of the nanowires were studied. The resulting ZnO nanowires were determined to be single crystalline, with diameter on the order of 50 nm to 150 nm and length that could be controlled between 0.5 μm to 20 μm. Their density was on the order of high 108 cm−2 to low 109 cm−2. In addition to routine characterizations using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy, we developed the atom probe tomography technique for ZnO nanowires, comparing the voltage pulse and laser pulse modes. In-depth analysis of the data was carried out to determine the accurate chemical composition of the nanowires and reveal the incorporation of nitrogen impurities. The current–voltage characteristics of individual nanowires were measured to determine their electrical properties.

Atom Probe Tomography of Zinc Oxide Nanowires

The flexible metamaterials have promised to greatly expand our ability to realize a wide range of novel applications including new methods of sensing and cloaking. In this work, flexible metamaterial absorbers, targeted to operate at terahertz frequencies, have been designed, simulated, and fabricated. The absorber structure consisted of a conducting ground plane, a dielectric spacer, and a frequency selective surface which was composed of two layers of nonconcentric, differently sized, single-ring arrays. Absorber structure was designed and simulated such that absorbers exhibited two distinct resonance frequencies with the strength of absorption for both sensitive to the center-to-center spacing of the rings and polarization. The functionality of the absorbers was seen to be similar both in planar and deformed positions, which promises robustness of the conformal flexible metamaterials device under the deformation and uneven surfaces.

David S. Wilbert

Papers

Design and analysis of perfect terahertz metamaterial absorber by a novel dynamic circuit model

Polarization-Dependent, Frequency-Selective THz Stereometamaterial Perfect Absorber

Equivalent-Circuit Interpretation of the Polarization Insensitive Performance of THz Metamaterial Absorbers

Atom Probe Tomography of Zinc Oxide Nanowires

Investigation of robust flexible conformal THz perfect metamaterial absorber