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Perfect absorbers based on metal–insulator–metal structures in the visible region: a simple approach for practical applications

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Abstract

Perfect absorbers based on metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structures are proposed and demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally, in the visible region. The proposed structures may possess either sharp or broadband absorption peaks, by simply choosing a single layer of the proposed MIM structure or building several layers of them, while no nanofabrication steps or structure patterning are required, and thus can be easily made to cover a large area. The highly efficient absorption of the MIM structures is maintained for both TE and TM incident polarization, and for angles of incidence up to 75°, indicating that the proposed perfect absorbers can be potentially deployed for solar cells applications and optics.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Research Council under ERC Advanced Grant No. 320081 (PHOTOMETA). Work at Ames Laboratory was partially supported by the Department of Energy (Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering) under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11358.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, N. Plastira 100, 700 13, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    G. Kenanakis, Ch. P. Mavidis, N. Katsarakis, M. Kafesaki, E. N. Economou & C. M. Soukoulis

  2. Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, 710 03, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Ch. P. Mavidis & M. Kafesaki

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, 710 03, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    E. Vasilaki

  4. Electrical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Heraklion, Greece

    N. Katsarakis

  5. Ames Laboratory-USDOE, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    C. M. Soukoulis

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  1. G. Kenanakis
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  2. Ch. P. Mavidis
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  3. E. Vasilaki
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  4. N. Katsarakis
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  5. M. Kafesaki
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  6. E. N. Economou
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  7. C. M. Soukoulis
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Correspondence to G. Kenanakis.

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Kenanakis, G., Mavidis, C.P., Vasilaki, E. et al. Perfect absorbers based on metal–insulator–metal structures in the visible region: a simple approach for practical applications. Appl. Phys. A 123, 77 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0711-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0711-6

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