A dual broadband terahertz bifunction absorber that can be actively tuned is proposed. The optical properties of the absorber were simulated and numerically calculated using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that when the conductivity of vanadium dioxide is less than σ0 = 8.5 × 103 S/m, the absorptance can be continuously adjusted between 2% and 100%. At vanadium dioxide conductivity greater than σ0 = 8.5 × 103 S/m, the absorption bandwidth of the absorber can be switched from 3.4 THz and 3.06 THz to 2.83 THz and none, respectively, and the absorptance remains above 90%. This achieves perfect modulation of the absorptance and absorption bandwidth. The physical mechanism of dual-broadband absorptions and perfect absorption is elucidated by impedance matching theory and electric field distribution. In addition, it also has the advantage of being polarization insensitive and maintaining stable absorption at wide angles of oblique incidence. The absorber may have applications in emerging fields such as modulators, stealth and light-guided optical switches.
In this paper, a side-coupled triangle cavity in a plasmonic waveguide structure is proposed and numerically analyzed by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and coupled mode theory (CMT). Triple plasmonically induced transparency (PIT) was achieved when an extra triangle was added into the structure, and the transmission characteristics were investigated. This novel structure has a maximal sensitivity of 933 nm/RIU when used as a sensor and a contrast ratio of 4 dB. Moreover, the tunability of PIT can be realized by filling the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) E7 into the triangles. The refractive index of E7 changes with the applied electric field. Given that E7 is also sensitive to temperature, this structure can be used as a temperature sensor with a sensitivity of 0.29 nm/°C. It is believed that this tunable structure with PIT may have potential applications in highly integrated optical circuits.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.