Binary gratings with high or low metal filling ratios in a grating region have been demonstrated as successful candidates in enhancing the emittance of emitters for thermophotovoltaics since they could support surface plasmons (SPs), the Rayleigh-Wood anomaly (RWA), or cavity resonance (CR) within their geometries. This work shows that combining a tungsten binary grating with a low and high filling ratio to form a pyramid grating can significantly increase the emittance, which is nearly perfect in the wavelength region from 0.6 to 1.72 μm, while being 0.1 at wavelengths longer than 2.5 μm. Moreover, the emittance spectrum of the hybrid tungsten grating is insensitive to the angle of incidence. The enhancement demonstrated by magnetic field and Poynting vector patterns is due to the interplay between SPs and RWA modes at short wavelengths, and CR at long wavelengths. Furthermore, a combined grating made of nickel is also proposed providing enhanced emittance in a wide angle of incidence.

A rigorous design using periodic silicon (Si) gratings as absorbers for solar cells in visible and near-infrared regions is numerically presented. The structure consists of a subwavelength Si grating layer on top of an Si substrate. Ranges of grating dimensions are preliminary considered satisfying simple and feasible fabrication techniques with an aspect ratio defined as the ratio of the grating thickness (d) and the grating lamella width (w), with 0 < d/w < 1.0. The subwavelength grating structure (SGS) is assumed to comprise different lamella widths and slits within each period in order to finely tune the grating profile such that the absorptance is significantly enhanced in the whole wavelength region. The results showed that the compound SGS yields an average absorptance of 0.92 which is 1.5 larger than that of the Si plain and conventional grating structures. It is shown that the absorptance spectrum of the proposed SGS is insensitive to the angle of incidence of the incoming light. The absorptance enhancement is also investigated by computing magnetic field, energy density, and Poynting vector distributions. The results presented in this study show that the proposed method based on nanofabrication techniques provides a simple and promising solution to design solar energy absorbers or other energy harvesting devices.

The expectation of perfectly geometric shapes of subwavelength grating (SWG) structures such as smoothness of sidewalls and sharp corners and nonexistence of grating defects is not realistic due to micro/nanofabrication processes. This work numerically investigates optical properties of an optimal solar absorber comprising a single-layered silicon (Si) SWG deposited on a finite Si substrate, with a careful consideration given to effects of various types of its imperfect geometry. The absorptance spectra of the solar absorber with different geometric shapes, namely, the grating with attached nanometer-sized features at the top and bottom of sidewalls and periodic defects within four and ten grating periods are investigated comprehensively. It is found that the grating with attached features at the bottom absorbs more energy than both the one at the top and the perfect grating. In addition, it is shown that the grating with defects in each fourth period exhibits the highest average absorptance (91%) compared with that of the grating having defects in each tenth period (89%), the grating with attached features (89%), and the perfect one (86%). Moreover, the results indicate that the absorptance spectrum of the imperfect structures is insensitive to angles of incidence. Furthermore, the absorptance enhancement is clearly demonstrated by computing magnetic field, energy density, and Poynting vector distributions. The results presented in this study prove that imperfect geometries of the nanograting structure display a higher absorptance than the perfect one, and provide such a practical guideline for nanofabrication capabilities necessary to be considered by structure designers.

This study reports the design and analysis of a plasmonic sensor based on a heavily doped silicon and metallic grating structure working in the mid-infrared region. The numerical results show that the reflection spectrum of the phosphorous-doped Si grating structure with a dopant concentration of 1 × 20 ²⁰ has a sharp asymmetric Fano resonance dip, which is strongly dependent on the refractive index change in the surroundings. It yields a sensitivity of 8000 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 950 nm/RIU working in the air and water media, respectively, very high values compared with that of existing devices. Moreover, the Fano resonance caused by coupling of the Wood–Rayleigh anomaly and surface plasmon resonances is demonstrated by calculating the magnetic field and Poynting vector patterns. Further, a feasible and easy fabrication process of the sensor featuring high performance is represented.

The wavelength-selective infrared absorptance of a single-layered aluminum subwavelength structure (SWS) is optimized using a hybrid numerical scheme comprising the rigorous coupled-wave analysis method and a genetic algorithm. The results show that the optimized SWS yields a strong absorptance peak (0.99) and a full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of 1.42 μm. In addition, it is shown that the absorptance spectrum of the SWS is insensitive to the angle of incidence of the incoming light and the grating period, but shifts toward a longer (shorter) wavelength as the grating thickness or grating ridge width is increased (decreased). The enhanced absorptance is examined by computing the governing equations of the excitations of Rayleigh-Wood anomaly, surface plasmon polaritons, cavity resonance, and magnetic polaritons. The magnetic field patterns and Poynting vector distribution within the grating structure are also analyzed to support the physical mechanism using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results indicate that the absorptance peak of the SWS is the result of cavity resonance. Also, for a double-layered SWS comprising an aluminum grating and a dielectric layer, a widening of the absorptance spectrum occurs. Overall, the results presented in this study show that SWS gratings which can be easily manufactured using microfabrication technology provide a simple and versatile solution for such applications in tailoring the spectral absorptance used for infrared detection, energy harvesting, and so on.

A dual broadband perfect absorber based on a graphene-covered compound silver (Ag) grating structure working in the infrared (0.8–2.1 µm) regime is proposed and investigated numerically. Two distinct absorption peaks approximately 1.0 are achieved by the excitation of magnetic polaritons over a large range of incident angles from 0 to 70 degrees. The physics underlying the structure is also explained by computing interactions of electromagnetic fields with the graphene and the Ag grating. In addition, it has shown that the absorption peaks can be tuned by changing geometric parameters of the structure; however, their spectral shape and absorption remain unchanged. Furthermore, the proposed compound grating with a graphene overlay provides potential applications for infrared absorbing devices.