Broadband, wide-angle, and polarization-independent metamaterial absorber for the visible regime

Broadband metamaterial absorber (MA) in the whole visible regime has attracted an enormous amount of attention for its potential applications in thermophotovoltaic cells, thermal emitters, and other optoelectronic devices. Nonetheless, complicated device configuration is still involved in achieving broadband, polarization-independent MA and it results in a cost-ineffective fabrication process. In this paper, a novel MA composed of a periodic array of dielectric cylinder sandwiched by the non-noble metal of nickel (Ni) film is demonstrated. Experimental results show that the proposed MA exhibits strong absorptive behavior independent of polarization in the whole visible regime (400-700 nm). The absorption still remains 80% when the incident angle is 60 degrees. The proposed fabrication method is well compatible with the conventional soft nano-imprinting lithography technique, thus it is economic and scalable for a large-format substrate. These results provide an alternative method for the realization of high-performance visible light absorber and offer new opportunities for potential applications in related fields. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America