Electrically switchable metamaterial absorber in visible range based on micro-electro-mechanically system

Abstract

Spectral control of light in the visible range is one of the fundamental topics in optical applications. Micro-electro-mechanically systems (MEMS) combine with metamaterial structures can further enrich the optical function. Here, a plasmonic metamaterial structures based on MEMS consist of the top metal film and bottom metal slab separated by a dielectric layer was proposed to achieve an electrically switchable metamaterial absorber (MMA). Each metamaterial unit cell is composed of an electrically driven suspended metal film and bottom metal substrate, which can perform independent MEMS functions. Full-wave numerical simulations demonstrated that the shifting of the absorption peaks of the spectrum can be achieved in the visible range. The absorption modulation ratio above 60% can be achieved at wavelengths near 570 nm and 640 nm, provided that the full distance (50 nm) between the top suspended metal film and bottom metal slab can be 100% modulated, which can be easily realized via current MEMS technology. This paves the way for MEMS integrated metamaterial absorber as a platform for reconfigurable optics and optical switching.

Keywords

• Micro-electro-mechanically system
• Metamaterial absorber
• Electronically switchable