Graphene metamaterial for multiband and broadband terahertz absorber

In this paper, we present the efficient design of functional graphene thin film metamaterial on a metal-plane separated by a thick dielectric layer. Perfect absorption is characterized by the complete suppression of incident and reflected light and complete dissipation of incident energy. We investigate the properties of graphene metamaterials and demonstrate multiband absorbers that have five absorption bands, using silicon interlayers, in the 0-2.2 THz range. The absorption rate reached up to 99.9% at a frequency of 1.08 THz, and the quality factor was 6.98 for a 0.14 THz bandwidth. We present a novel theoretical interpretation based on standing wave field theory, which shows that coherent superposition of the incident and reflection rays produce stationary waves, and the field energy localized inside the thick spacers and dissipated through the metal-planes. Thus, light was effectively trapped in the metamaterial absorbers with negligible near-field interactions, causing high absorption. The theory developed here explains all features observed in multiband metamaterial absorbers and therefore provides a profound understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.