Enhanced absorption per unit mass for infrared arrays using subwavelength metal–dielectric structures
Abstract
The absorption-to-mass ratio of the infrared arrays is enhanced to ∼ 1.33 − 7.33 times larger than the previously reported structures by incorporating two design characteristics: first, the coupling of evanescent fields in the air gaps around pixels to create effectively larger pixel sizes and, second, the use of guided-mode resonance (GMR) within the subwavelength metal–dielectric gratings. The bilayer T i − S i 3 N 4 gratings achieve broadband long-wave infrared (LWIR, λ ∼ 8 − 12 µ m ) absorption by the combined effects of free carrier absorption by the thin Ti films and vibrational phonon absorption by the thick S i 3 N 4 films. In the presence of GMR, this broadband absorption can be enormously enhanced even with low fill factor subwavelength grating cells. Further, the spacing and design of the cells can be modified to form a pixel array structure that couples the light falling in the air gaps via evanescent field coupling. Calculations are performed using the finite difference time domain technique. Excellent broadband absorption is observed for the optimized arrays, yielding maximum absorption of 90% across the LWIR and an average absorption per unit mass (absorption/mass) per pixel of 3.45 × 10 13 k g − 1 .
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 14, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1364/josab.410656
Entities
People
- Avijit Das
- Joseph J. Talghader
Organizations
- Army Research Office