Ohmic loss in frequency-selective surfaces

The present study was undertaken in order to quantify absorption effects due to ohmic loss in frequency-selective surfaces (FSS) at infrared frequencies. The structures considered in this work act as electromagnetic filters, and as such, are of interest for use as thermophotovoltaic spectral control devices. For this application, absorption is of primary concern since it leads to reduced filter efficiency. This work focuses on the behavior of single-layer, free-standing FSS arrays comprised of circular apertures (holes) and circular loop apertures (rings). Numerical calculations of the transmission, reflection, and absorption characteristics of various arrays were carried out for wavelengths between 1 and 15 mum using a commercial finite-element software package. Absorption effects were included using measured optical properties as input parameters to a surface impedance boundary condition. Analytical techniques were then employed to determine the absorption behavior in the static limit. An interesting result of this analysis is the fact that absorption at 15 mum is predicted by the finite-element calculations to increase versus aperture radius (for fixed aperture separation), while in the static limit absorption was found (through the use of analytical techniques) to decrease. The results of the finite-element calculations were confirmed using another numerical method based on the periodic moment method. We are thus led to the conclusion that the qualitative relationship for absorption versus aperture radius must reverse for some frequency regime yet to be investigated. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.