of the original manuscript:Hedayati, M.K.; Javaherirahim, M.; Mozooni, B.; Abdelaziz, R.; Tavassolizadeh, A.; Chakravadhanula, V.S.K.; Zaporojtchenko, V.; Strunkus, T.; Faupel, F.; Elbahri, M.: Design of a Perfect Black Absorber at Visible Frequencies Using Plasmonic MetamaterialsIn: Advanced Materials (2011) Submitted to 2 ((During the course of the last decade, trends to achieve perfect absorbers increased tremendously due to the huge interest in development of the materials for harvesting solar energy. However up to date all of the applied methods (perforated metallic films, [1][2][3] grating structured systems [4][5][6][7] , and metamaterials [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] ) are costly and suffer from a lack of flexibility.Furthermore their absorbance is limited to a narrow spectral range which makes their application for a broad range of frequencies impossible.Here we demonstrate design, fabrication and characterization of a perfect plasmonic absorber in a stack of metal and nanocomposite showing almost 100% absorbance spanning a broad range of frequencies from ultraviolet to the near infrared. The fabrication technique of our metamaterial is pretty simple, cost effective and compatible with current industrial methods of MEMS which make our proposed system an outstanding candidate for high efficiency absorber materials.Thick metallic film are known as an excellent mirror but when they are structured, the reflectance fades away because the light gets absorbed by the excitation of the conduction electrons by electromagnetic waves which is generally known as plasmon resonance.[1] This concept has been used in the last few decades to realize highly absorbing systems in diverse areas of the electromagnetic spectrum but these works were either successful only for a very narrow range of frequencies [7,[14][15][16] or the absorbance was distant from that of blackbody materials [11] .Not only the metallic film supports plasmon resonances but also the metallic nanoparticles show high absorption due to its localized particle plasmon resonance (Mie resonance) [17][18] Indeed, the resonance of these particles embedded in different matrices has been extensively studied within the last decade and it is well known that the resonance bandwidth depends on the size, shape, density and distribution of the nanoparticles. [17][18] Indeed, a highly dense nanocomposite gives rise to a very broad-band absorption due to the excitation of the localized plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles by visible light. [19] In contrast to the Submitted to 3 expectation for the absorption behavior of a metal/polymer nanocomposite, we have recently shown that nanocomposites with low filling factor in a proximity to a thin metallic film can even enhance the optical transmission of the system due to the plasmonic coupling of the film and the nanoparticles which mainly result in a reflection/scattering reduction of the system by dipole/image interaction. [20] However, rising the distance between the metallic film and the nanoparticles by adding a space...

A photoswitchable, transparent, and highly conducting device that functions via nanophotonic interaction of a metal film coated with spirophenanthrooxazine (SPO) molecules embedded in a polymeric matrix and fabricated through spin coating is demonstrated. The device possesses additional novel functionality as a photobleaching gas sensor.

PERFECT PLASMONIC ABSORBERAs reported by Mady Elbahri and co-workers, a bent polymeric fi lm coated with a black logo of the Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering group (colored TEM image of nanoparticles as the background) demonstrates a plasmonic, perfect black absorber. This is achieved by combination of a metal fi lm with suitable metal/ dielectric nanocomposites and has potential applications in optoelectronics such as solar absorbers and photovoltaic devices.