New Insight into the Angle Insensitivity of Ultrathin Planar Optical Absorbers for Broadband Solar Energy Harvesting.

ABSTRACT: Two challenging problems still remain for optical absorbers consisting of an ultrathin planar semiconductor film on top of an opaque metallic substrate. One is the angle-insensitive mechanism and the other is the system design needed for broadband solar energy harvesting. Here, first we theoretically demonstrates that the high refractive index, instead of the ultrathin feature as reported in previous studies, is the physical origin of the angle insensitivity for ultrathin planar optical absorbers. They exhibit omnidirectional resonance for TE polarization due to the high complex refractive index difference between the semiconductor and the air, while for TM polarization the angle insensitivity persists up to an incident angle related to the semiconductor refractive index. These findings we

SUBMITTER: Liu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5007480 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature