March 13, 2008 | N. I. Landy, S. Sajuyigbe, J. J. Mock, D. R. Smith, W. J. Padilla
The paper presents a design for a metamaterial absorber with near unity absorbance, consisting of two metamaterial resonators that couple separately to electric and magnetic fields. The structure is fabricated and characterized, achieving a predicted absorbance of 96%, with a simulated full width at half maximum (FWHM) absorbance of 4%, making it ideal for imaging purposes. Unlike conventional absorbers, this metamaterial consists solely of metallic elements, allowing the substrate to be chosen independently for optimization. The design and simulation process are detailed, and experiments demonstrate a peak absorbance greater than 88% at 11.5 GHz. The metamaterial's ability to independently tune electric and magnetic resonances and achieve impedance-matching to free space is highlighted. The paper also discusses the potential applications of such a perfect absorber in bolometers and imaging devices, emphasizing its scalability across different wavelengths.The paper presents a design for a metamaterial absorber with near unity absorbance, consisting of two metamaterial resonators that couple separately to electric and magnetic fields. The structure is fabricated and characterized, achieving a predicted absorbance of 96%, with a simulated full width at half maximum (FWHM) absorbance of 4%, making it ideal for imaging purposes. Unlike conventional absorbers, this metamaterial consists solely of metallic elements, allowing the substrate to be chosen independently for optimization. The design and simulation process are detailed, and experiments demonstrate a peak absorbance greater than 88% at 11.5 GHz. The metamaterial's ability to independently tune electric and magnetic resonances and achieve impedance-matching to free space is highlighted. The paper also discusses the potential applications of such a perfect absorber in bolometers and imaging devices, emphasizing its scalability across different wavelengths.