Intensity-modulating graphene metamaterial for multiband terahertz absorption

In this paper, we design a tunable strength multiband absorber consisting of a graphene metamaterial structure and a thick dielectric interlayer deposited on a metal ground plane. We investigate the tunable conductivity properties of the graphene metamaterial and demonstrate multiband absorbers with three absorption bands using a polyimide interlayer in the 0-2.25 THz range by numerical simulation. The results show that the mix absorptivity reached 99.8% at 1.99 THz, and the absorptive strength can be tuned with the modulation depth up to 84.2%. We present a theoretical interpretation based on a standing wave field, which shows that the field energy is localized inside the thicker spacer and then dissipated, effectively trapping the light in the metamaterial absorbers with negligible near-field interactions. The standing wave field theory developed here explains all the features of the multiband metamaterial absorbers and provides a profound understanding of the underlying physics. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America