Tunable metamaterial absorber based on VO₂-graphene

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, a tunable multilayer metamaterial absorber is proposed, which is composed of VO 2 -graphene mixed structure layer, PDMS dielectric layer, VO 2 layer, PDMS dielectric layer and bottom metal film layer. The simulation results show that when VO 2 is in the insulating phase and the Fermi level of graphene is 0.9 eV, the absorption peak of 0.75–1.15 THz is generated by the interaction resonance of graphene and bottom metal. When VO 2 is in metal phase and the Fermi level of graphene is 0 eV, the absorption peak of 2.5–4.5 THz is generated by the resonance of vanadium dioxide. Therefore, the tunable switching between two different frequency bands can be realized. Moreover, the dual regulation of both vanadium dioxide conductivity and graphene Fermi energy level can also modulate the absorption amplitude and broaden absorption band. In order to explain the mechanism of VO 2 -graphene on the absorption performance, the electric field distribution and equivalent impedance of the absorber are discussed and analyzed in this paper. In addition, the absorption performances at variable incidence angles for both TE and TM polarizations are investigated and the absorber is insensitive to polarization. Therefore, the absorber has potential application value in the terahertz field.