Optical absorbers based on strong interference in ultra-thin films

Optical absorbers find uses in a wide array of applications across the electromagnetic spectrum, including photovoltaic and photochemical cells, photodetectors, optical filters, stealth technology, and thermal light sources. Recent efforts have sought to reduce the footprint of optical absorbers, co...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Laser & photonics reviews Jg. 10; H. 5; S. 735 - 749
Hauptverfasser: Kats, Mikhail A., Capasso, Federico
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Weinheim Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2016
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Schlagworte:
Absorbers
Coatings
color coatings
Decorative
Fabry-Perot interferometers
Footprints
Interference
Light sources
Metamaterials
optical absorbers
optical coatings
Optical filters
Optoelectronic devices
Patterning
perfect absorbers
Photovoltaic cells
photovoltaics
Plasmonics
Scene generators
Solar cells
Stealth technology
structural color
thermal emitters
Thickness
Thin films
Thin-film interference
Wavelengths
ISSN:1863-8880, 1863-8899
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Optical absorbers find uses in a wide array of applications across the electromagnetic spectrum, including photovoltaic and photochemical cells, photodetectors, optical filters, stealth technology, and thermal light sources. Recent efforts have sought to reduce the footprint of optical absorbers, conventionally based on graded structures or Fabry‐Perot‐type cavities, by using emerging concepts in plasmonics, metamaterials, and metasurfaces. Unfortunately, these new absorber designs require patterning on subwavelength length scales, and are therefore impractical for many large‐scale optical and optoelectronic devices. In this article, we summarize recent progress in the development of optical absorbers based on lossy films with thicknesses significantly smaller than the incident optical wavelength. These structures have a small footprint and require no nanoscale patterning. We outline the theoretical foundation of these absorbers based on “ultra‐thin‐film interference”, including the concepts of loss‐induced phase shifts and critical coupling, and then review several applications, including ultra‐thin color coatings, decorative photovoltaics, high‐efficiency photochemical cells, and infrared scene generators. Ultra‐thin optical absorbers are desired for many applications across the electromagnetic spectrum, including solar energy harvesting, photodetectors, optical filters, stealth technology, and thermal light sources. This review summarizes recent progress in the development of optical absorbers based on lossy films with thicknesses significantly smaller than the incident optical wavelength. The basic theory governing ultra‐thin‐film absorbers is discussed, along with application examples, including color coatings, decorative photovoltaics, photochemical cells, and infrared scene generators.
Bibliographie:ArticleID:LPOR201600098
UW Madison
istex:388A6F1F640CA0B8942F8DDBC61E51E11B541785
Office of Naval Research - No. N00014-16-1-2556
ark:/67375/WNG-0QH9T28F-N
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:1863-8880
1863-8899
DOI:10.1002/lpor.201600098