Analysis of metal-dielectric structures for broadband light manipulation

Metal-dielectric composites exhibit unique optical properties in the visible wavelength range. The use of plasmonic/dielectric composites was previously studied for the design of light absorbers [1], [2] . Multiple metal-dielectric layers have thicknesses from several nm to tens of nm. This work presents solutions for effective optical properties of Ag/SiO₂ metamaterial structures. We specifically explore effects of aperiodic layer thicknesses. Our theoretical model is supplemented wirh computations. Desired broadband optical properties are obtained by optimizing structure dimensions. Incident light can be linearly polarized or unpolarized. Applications of this research include antireflection coatings and light-trapping structures.

[1] N.Mattiucci , M. J. Bloemer , N. Akozbek. G. D’Aguanno, Impedance matched thin metamaterials make metals absorbing, Scientific Reports, 3:3203, 2013.

[2] Christian Harris, Dongxia Wei, Stephanie Law, Andrey Semichaevsky, Semiconductor-based mid-IR metamaterials: experimental and theoretical studies, APS March Meeting, Baltimore, MD, March 14, 2016