Solar energy full-spectrum perfect absorption and efficient photo-thermal generation

Designing and manufacturing cost-effective absorbers that can cover the full-spectrum of solar irradiation is still critically important for solar harvesting. Utilizing control of the lightwave reflection and transmission, metamaterials realize high absorption over a relatively wide bandwidth. Here, a truncated circular cone metasurface (TCCM) composed of alternating multiple layers of titanium (Ti) and silicon dioxide (SiO₂) is presented. Enabled by the synergetic of surface plasmon resonances and Fabry-Pérot resonances, the TCCM simultaneously achieves high absorptivity (exceed 90%), and absorption broadband covers almost the entire solar irradiation spectrum. In addition, the novel absorber exhibits great photo-thermal property. By exploiting the ultrahigh melting point of Ti and SiO₂, high-efficiency solar irradiation absorption and heat release have been achieved at 700℃ when the solar concentration ratio is 500 (i.e., incident light intensity at 5×10⁵ W/m²). It is worth noting that the photo-thermal efficiency is almost unchanged when the incident angle increases from 0° to 45°. The outstanding capacity for solar harvesting and light-to-heat reported in this paper suggests that TCCM has great potential in photothermal therapies, solar desalination, and radiative cooling, etc.     

Extremely-broad band metamaterial absorber for solar energy harvesting based on star shaped resonator

A new metamaterial absorber (MA) is investigated and shown numerically for solar energy harvesting for future solar cell applications. The structure consists of two metals and one dielectric layer having different thicknesses. Owing to this combination, the structure exhibits plasmonic resonance characteristics. In the entire spectrum of visible frequency region, the obtained results show that investigated structure has perfect absorptivity which is above 91.8%. Proposed structure also has 99.87% absorption at 613.94 THz and 99% absorption between 548 and 669 THz. The proposed structure also shows both polarization and angle independency for the entire visible region. The MA based solar cell proposes high absorption with an upper ratio of 90% in the widest range of visible spectrum comparing to the studies in literature. Hence, the proposed metamaterial absorber solar cells can be used for invisibility in entire spectrum of visible light. The absorption characteristics of the solar absorber are also investigated for infrared and ultraviolet region. The enhancement of absorption of the structure will provide new type of sensors in these frequency ranges.     

Realization of wide-angle and wideband absorber using metallic and graphene-based metasurface for mid-infrared and low THz frequency

This article presents a study on mid-infrared and low-THz absorbers based on metallic and graphene metasurface. The absorber is constructed of a periodic array of patterned elements in patch form placed on a quarter-wavelength dielectric film terminated by a metallic reflector. A simple analytical circuit model equivalent to patch array is used for employing the matching impedance approach to realize the wideband absorber. This absorber is polarization independent for normal incident waves owing to its symmetric structure. Simulation and analytical circuit model results show that the graphene and metallic-based absorbers proposed in this paper can operate with an absorption value above 90% in a normalized bandwidth of 100% in the low terahertz (THz) and the mid-infrared regime, respectively. The proposed absorber is wide-angle for both TM and TE polarizations and polarization-insensitive for small incident angles.     

Wideband perfect light absorber at midwave infrared using multiplexed metal structures

We experimentally demonstrate a wideband near-perfect light absorber in the midwave IR region using a multiplexed plasmonic metal structure. The wideband near-perfect light absorber is made of two different size gold metal squares multiplexed on a thin dielectric spacing layer on top of a thick metal layer in each unit cell. We also fabricate regular nonmultiplexed structure perfect light absorbers. The multiplexed structure IR absorber absorbs more than 98% of the incident light over a much wider spectral band than regular nonmultiplexed structure perfect light absorbers in the midwave IR region.     

基于超材料的偏振不敏感太赫兹宽带吸波体设计

本文设计了一种基于超材料的偏振不敏感太赫兹宽带吸波体.吸波体包含两层金属和一层中间介质,表面金属层每一个周期单元由五种尺寸接近的金属块按照相邻不同的规律排列成5×5的方形阵列.各种尺寸金属块分别产生单峰谐振吸收,五个谐振吸收峰相互靠近从而产生宽带吸收.通过研究吸波体表面电流和电场z分量分布情况可知,入射太赫兹能量的吸收主要是由y方向上电场引起的电偶极子振荡和z方向上磁场引起的磁极化产生,而且金属层的欧姆损耗起主要作用.仿真结果表明,吸波体吸收率在80%以上的带宽约为1.2 THz,最高吸收率可达98.7%,半峰全宽(FWHM)为1.6 THz,该宽带吸波体的厚度约为中心波长的二十分之一,对偏振方向不敏感,且能实现大角度吸收,在太赫兹频段的电磁隐身、测辐射热探测器以及宽带通信等领域有潜在的应用价值.     

A simple design of ultra-broadband and polarization insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber

Ultra-broadband metamaterial absorbers have attracted considerable attention due to their great prospect for practical applications. These absorbers are usually stacked by many (no. <20) different shaped or sized subunits in a unit cell, making it quite troublesome to be fabricated. Simple design for ultra-broadband absorber is urgently necessary. Herein, we propose a simple design of ultra-broadband and polarization insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber based on a double-layered composite structure on a metallic board, and each layer consists of two sets of different sized square metallic plates. Greater than 90 % absorption is obtained across a frequency range of 0.85 THz with the central frequency around 1.60 THz. The relative absorption bandwidth of the device is greatly improved to 53.3 %, which is much larger than previous results. The mechanism of the ultra-broadband absorber is attributed to the overlapping of four closely resonance frequencies. The proposed metamaterial absorber has potential applications in detection, imaging and stealth technology.     

Perfect metamaterial absorber design for solar cell applications

A new perfect metamaterial absorber based on metal-dielectric layer combination is designed and investigated to be used in solar cell application. The designed structure is particularly presented in the range of solar spectrum in order to utilize the solar energy effectively. Parametric studies with respect to the dimensions of the structure are carried out to characterize the absorber. According to the results, it is found that the metamaterial absorber has 99.99% absorption at 403.5 THz. In addition, the fractional bandwidth (FBW) of the absorption region is calculated and 22.2% FBW is obtained. Moreover the simulation results showed that the proposed design is also polarization and incident angle insensitive. As a result, the proposed metamaterial absorber provides perfect absorption for visible and near infrared frequency ranges and can be used for the realization of more efficient new solar cells.     

Design of periodic metal-insulator-metal waveguide back structures for the enhancement of light absorption in thin-film solar cells

To increase the absorption in a thin layer of absorbing material (amorphous silicon, a-Si), a light trapping design is presented. The designed structure incorporates periodic metal-insulator-metal waveguides to enhance the optical path length of light within the solar cells. The new design can result in broadband optical absorption enhancement not only for transverse magnetic (TM)-polarized light, but also for transverse electric (TE)-polarized light. No plasmonic modes can be excited in TE-polarization, but because of the coupling into the a-Si planar waveguide guiding modes and the diffraction of light by the bottom periodic structures into higher diffraction orders, the total absorption in the active region is also increased. The results from rigorous coupled wave analysis show that the overall optical absorption in the active layer can be greatly enhanced by up to 40%. The designed structures presented in this paper can be integrated with back contact technology to potentially produce high-efficiency thin-film solar cell devices.     

基于宇称时间对称结构实现石墨烯光增强吸收

为增强石墨烯对近红外通信波段光波的吸收,提出了一种基于周期性宇称-时间(Parity-time)对称结构的石墨烯基吸收器,该结构由顶层的石墨烯层和底层周期性PT对称单元构成.采用传输矩阵方法系统地研究了该结构中石墨烯对1450～1650 nm波长范围内光波的吸收特性.结果表明,通过优化石墨烯复合PT对称微纳结构参数,对...     

太赫兹波段电磁超材料吸波器折射率传感特性

太赫兹超材料吸波器作为一类重要的超材料功能器件,除了可以实现对入射太赫兹波的完美吸收外,还可以作为折射率传感器实现对周围环境信息变化的捕捉与监测.通常从优化表面金属谐振单元结构和改变介质层材料和形态两个方面出发,改善太赫兹超材料吸波器的传感特性.为深入研究中间介质层对太赫兹超材料吸波器传感特性的影响,本文基于金属开口谐振环阵列设计实现了具有连续介质层、非连续介质层和微腔结构的3款太赫兹超材料吸波器,并对其传感特性与传感机理进行了深入研究.结果表明,为了提高太赫兹超材料吸波器的折射率灵敏度、最大探测范围等传感特性,除了可以选用相对介电常数较小的材料作为中间介质层外,还可以改变中间介质层的形态,进而减小中间介质层对谐振场的束缚,增强谐振场与被测分析物之间的耦合.与传统的具有连续介质层的太赫兹超材料吸波器相比,具有非连续介质层和微腔结构的超材料吸波器具有更优越的传感特性,可应用于对待测分析物的高灵敏度、快速检测,在未来的传感领域具有更加广阔的应用前景.     

SU-8 based planar metamaterials with fourfold symmetry as selective terahertz absorbers

We report on the absorption properties of polarization-insensitive transmissive and reflective metamaterial absorbers based on two planar aluminium periodic structures and SU-8 epoxy resist. These absorbers were investigated using numerical simulation and experimental methods in the terahertz range (below 2 THz). SU-8 is a very promising organic material for dielectric layers in planar metamaterials, because its application simplifies the process of fabricating these structures and significantly reduces the fabrication time. The experimental absorption of the metamaterial absorbers has narrowband characteristics that were consistent with the numerical simulations. Power flow analysis in the transmissive metamaterial unit cell shows that the absorption in the terahertz range occurs primarily in the SU-8 layer of the absorber.     

Metamaterial-based frustum of cones array nanostructure for efficient absorber in the solar spectral band

Solar spectrum absorbing and harvesting are important for the utilization of solar energy. In this paper, we propose a metamaterial-based frustum of cones array solar energy absorber which appears an average absorptivity of 0.98 in the entire spectrum (i.e., 0.2–2.5 μm) with independent of the incoming light polarization state as well as the wide incident angle of as large as 50°. The efficient light harvesting property can be explained as the synergistic effect of the slow light mode, localized surface plasmon resonant effect and absorption induced by interband transition.     

A pure dielectric metamaterial absorber with broadband and thin thickness based on a cross-hole array structure

A pure dielectric metamaterial absorber with broadband and thin thickness is proposed, whose structure is designed as a periodic cross-hole array. The pure dielectric metamaterial absorber with high permittivity is prepared by ceramic reinforced polymer composites. Compared with those with low permittivity, the absorber with high permittivity is more sensitive to structural parameters, which means that it is easier to optimize the equivalent electromagnetic parameters and achieve wide impedance matching by altering the size or shape of the unit cell. The optimized metamaterial absorber exhibits reflection loss below -10 dB in 7.93 GHz-35.76 GHz with a thickness of 3.5 mm, which shows favorable absorption properties under the oblique incidence of TE polarization (±45°). Whether it is a measured or simulated value, the strongest absorbing peak reaches below -45 dB, which exceeds that of most metamaterial absorbers. The distributions of power loss density and electric and magnetic fields are investigated to study the origin of their strong absorbing properties. Multiple resonance mechanisms are proposed to explain the phenomenon, including polarization relaxation of the dielectric and edge effects of the cross-hole array. This work overcomes the shortcomings of the narrow absorbing bandwidth of dielectrics. It demonstrates that the pure dielectric metamaterial absorber with high permittivity has great potential in the field of microwave absorption.     

极化控制的双波段宽带红外吸收器研究

红外吸收器在红外隐身、辐射制冷、红外探测、传感器等方面有重要的应用前景.一维光栅型吸收器由于其结构简单、易于加工的优势备受关注,然而其不足之处是频带很窄,且只对一种极化有效.本文提出了一种基于简单一维周期结构的双波段宽带吸收器,对横磁波和横电波都有效,且吸波频段随入射波的极化方式而改变.该结构的基本单元由八个梯度排列的子单元构成,每个子单元由两层金属-介质双层膜垂直层叠组成.全波仿真结果表明,在1.68—2μm波段,该结构对横磁波吸收超过90%,而对横电波吸收很小(小于6%);在3.8-3.9μm波段,该结构对横电波吸收超过90%,而对横磁波吸收很小(小于5%).另外,该结构具有宽角度吸收特性,当入射角增大到60°时仍然能够保持较高的吸收率和较宽的吸收频带.     

缺陷组合嵌入VO2薄膜结构的可调太赫兹吸收器

提出一种多缺陷组合嵌入VO2薄膜结构的可调太赫兹吸收器,它由上表面金属图案层、基体和底层金属板三层结构组成,在上表面和基体之间嵌入二氧化钒介质.计算结果表明在f=4.08 THz和f=4.33 THz两频点吸收率分别为99.8%和99.9%.通过改变外界环境温度可控制二氧化钒相变,从而使两个频点吸收率从99.8%变化到1.0%.改变入射角和偏振态,计算结果表明在入射角0°-40°,吸收器在TE和TM两种极化波下吸收率都能在98%以上.该太赫兹波吸收器具有高吸收、动态调谐、极化不敏感等特性,本文所设计的可调太赫兹吸收器在太赫兹波相关领域,例如探测器、开关、动态调制器、隐身技术等方面具有很好的应用前景.     

一种基于石墨烯的超宽带吸波器

隐身技术对降低飞行器目标的雷达散射截面、提高飞行器目标的生存能力具有重要的意义和价值, 而在飞行器目标上引入吸波器结构是一种重要的隐身手段. 然而, 目前已有吸波器的研究主要集中在单频或多频窄带方面. 为了拓展吸波器工作频带, 基于石墨烯材料提出了一种工作于S/C波段的新型超宽带吸波器模型单元, 其中包含一个用石墨烯材料设计的方圆形双环周期结构. 调节石墨烯的表面阻抗, 使得吸收率超过90%的频带范围为2.1-9.0 GHz, 相对带宽约为124%, 实现了超宽带的吸波特性; 鉴于模型的高度对称性, 提出的吸波器模型表现出对入射波极化不敏感的吸波特性; 在不改变模型结构情况下, 调节石墨烯的静态偏置电场, 亦可调控吸波器谐振在2.0-9.0 GHz频带范围内的任意频率点处, 且达到超过99%的吸收效果. 最后采用等效电路模型方法和波的干涉理论对其吸波机理进行深入研究与分析: 从等效电路角度来讲, 方形和圆形环分别引入高、低吸波谐振频率, 二者优化叠加拓展了吸波带宽; 从干涉理论方面来看, 吸波器表面处的首次反射波与透射波的多次出射波形成较强的干涉相消现象, 有效减少了吸波器的反射回波.     

CZTS‐based materials and interfaces and their effects on the performance of thin film solar cells

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) and its related materials such as Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ (CZTSe) and Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) have attracted considerable attention as an absorber material for thin film solar cells due to the non‐toxicity, elemental abundance, and large production capacity of their constituents. Despite the similarities between CZTS‐based materials and Cu(In,Ga)Se₂(CIGS), the record efficiency of CZTS‐based solar cells remains significantly lower than that of CIGS solar cells. Considering that the difference between the two lies in the choice of the absorber material, the cause of the lower efficiency of CZTS‐based solar cells can be isolated to the issues associated with CZTS‐based materials and their related interfaces. Herein, these issues and the work done to understand and resolve them is reviewed. Unlike existing review papers, every unique region of CZTS‐based solar cells that contributes to its lower efficiency, namely: (1) the bulk of the absorber, (2) the grain boundaries of the absorber, (3) the absorber/buffer layer interface, and (4) the absorber/back contact interface are surveyed. This review also intends to identify the major unresolved issues and the potential improvement approaches of realizing sizable improvements in the solar cells' efficiency, thus providing a guide as to where research efforts should be focused. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Porous metal absorbers for underwater sound

Rubber has traditionally been used for underwater sound absorption. Porous metal is a relatively lightweight material and also has higher strength than rubber. However, exactly how porous metals can be used as effective underwater sound absorbers remains unclear. This paper shows how to use porous metal absorbers so that they work well under water, even under fairly constrained conditions. A method of nondimensional analysis is proposed that allows identification of vital characteristics. This means that such characteristics can be varied and the absorbers themselves filled with different types of viscous fluids. Such analysis suggests that the sound absorption coefficient of porous metals does not always increase when there are either increases in porosity or decreases in average pore size. The same method of analysis can show how, by choice of the right characteristics to choose a suitable viscous fluid, a porous metal absorber can be built that takes up little space but still effectively absorbs underwater sounds at low frequencies.     

A design of ultra-broadband metamaterial absorber

In this paper, an ultra-broadband, wide-angle polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorber is designed at microwave frequencies. The absorber consists of a periodic array of metallic strips with the lumped resistances fabricated on a dielectric substrate with a ground plane. The proposed absorber is single-layered and symmetric, thus leading to very thin and polarization-insensitive characteristics. According to the surface current distributions, the proposed absorber can operate three resonant modes including two dipole resonances and an LC resonance. By adjusting the geometry and lumped resistances of the structure, three resonant modes can be effectively connected together, and thus an ultra-broadband response can be realized. The simulated and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed absorber produces a good absorption above 80% at normal incidence and above 60% at oblique incidence with the incident angle smaller than 45° between 6 and 16.2 GHz.     

Deformable broadband metamaterial absorbers engineered with an analytical spatial Kramers‐Kronig permittivity profile

Electromagnetic (EM) materials with perfect absorption have long been investigated for their important applications in many practical technologies. The trial‐and‐error method has been mostly employed to achieve this target, either by varying the constituent compositions for traditional natural material absorbers or by running computer simulations for general metamaterial (MM) absorbers. In this work, the authors propose a new method with analytical guidance to build omnidirectional perfect absorbers inspired by the recently proposed spatial Kramers‐Kronig (KK) nonreflecting dielectric profile. The subtle combination of the spatial and time dispersions in the metamaterial‐engineered KK profile gives the desired broadband response property. More importantly, these features remain invariant when the sample is uniformly compressed or stretched with large thickness change, i.e., this particular broadband absorber is deformable, which has been firstly reported in the literature. The current results will pave a new way to design high‐efficiency EM absorbers that could also be extended in general to manipulate waves for other fields or applications.