Plasmonic tunable metamaterial absorber as ultraviolet protection film

Plasmonic metamaterials designed for optical frequency have to be shrunk down to few 10th of nanometer which turns their manufacturing cumbersome. Here, we shift the performance of metamaterial down to ultraviolet (UV) by using ultrathin nanocomposite as a tunable plasmonic metamaterial fabricated with tandem co-deposition. It provides the possibility to realize a plasmonic metamaterial absorber for UV frequency with marginal angle sensitivity. Its resonance frequency and intensity can be adjusted by changing thickness and filling factor of the composite. Presented approach for tunable metamaterials for high frequency could pave the way for their application for thermo-photovoltaic, stealth technology, and UV-protective coating. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.