Broad Band Absorber Based on Metamaterials

We describe a near perfect broad band absorber based on a laterally nanostructured multilayer material. We present calculations of the structure that demonstrates over 98{\%} absorption over a wide frequency range around the 300 K black body spectrum. We also show that a nanostructured metamaterial allows us to tailor the index of refraction using effective medium theory, with further improvement of the absorption characteristics to over 99{\%} over the same frequency range. The absorber can be adapted for use in any frequency range and any source type. These materials may have applications in~energy harvesting and~scattered light control.