Grid composite meta-surface absorber with thermal isolation structure for terahertz detection

Opt Express. 2024 Jan 1;32(1):205-216. doi: 10.1364/OE.509580.

Abstract

This paper specifically focuses on the absorber, the critical component responsible for the detector's response performance. The meta-surface absorber combines two resonant structures and achieves over 80% absorptance around 210 GHz, resulting in a broad operating frequency range. FR-4 is selected as the dielectric layer to be compatible with standard printed circuit board (PCB) technology, which reduces the overall fabrication time and cost. The absorbing unit and array layout are symmetrically designed, providing stable absorptance performance even under incident waves of different polarization angles. The polarization-insensitive absorptance characteristic further enhances the compatibility between the absorber and the detector in the application scenario. Furthermore, the thermal insulation performance of the absorber is ensured by introducing thermal insulation gaps. After completing fabrication through PCB technology, testing revealed that the absorber maintained excellent absorptance performance within its primary operating frequency range. This performance consistency closely matched the simulation results.