nanomaterials

Article
Nickel-Based High-Bandwidth Nanostructured Metamaterial
Absorber for Visible and Infrared Spectrum
Rana Muhammad Hasan Bilal 1 , Muhammad Ahsan Saeed 2 , Muhammad Ashar Naveed 1 ,
Muhammad Zubair 1 , Muhammad Qasim Mehmood 1 and Yehia Massoud 1, *

1 Innovative Technologies Laboratories (ITL), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST),
Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
2 School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
* Correspondence: yehia.massoud@kaust.edu.sa

Abstract: The efficient control of optical light at the nanoscale level attracts marvelous applications,
including thermal imaging, energy harvesting, thermal photovoltaics, etc. These applications demand
a high-bandwidth, thermally robust, angularly stable, and miniaturized absorber, which is a key
challenge to be addressed. So, in this study, the simple and cost-effective solution to attain a
high-bandwidth nanostructured absorber is demonstrated. The designed nanoscale absorber is
composed of a simple and plain circular ring of nickel metal, which possesses many interesting
features, including a miniaturized geometry, easily fabricable design, large operational bandwidth,
and polarization insensitivity, over the previously presented absorbers. The proposed nanoscale
absorber manifests an average absorption of 93% over a broad optical window from 400 to 2800 nm.
Moreover, the detailed analysis of the absorption characteristics is also performed by exciting the
optical light’s various incident and polarization angles. From the examined outcome, it is concluded
that the nanostructured absorber maintains its average absorption of 80% at oblique incident angles
in a broad wavelength range from 400 to 2800 nm. Owing to its appealing functionalities, such as the
Citation: Bilal, R.M.H.; Saeed, M.A.;
large bandwidth, simple geometry, low cost, polarization insensitivity, and thermal robustness of the
Naveed, M.A.; Zubair, M.; Mehmood,
constituting metal, nickel (Ni), this nano-absorber is made as an alternative for the applications of
M.Q.; Massoud, Y. Nickel-Based
High-Bandwidth Nanostructured
energy harvesting, thermal photovoltaics, and emission.
Metamaterial Absorber for Visible
and Infrared Spectrum. Nanomaterials Keywords: metamaterial; absorber; nickel; nanostructured; polarization insensitive; visible; high band-
2022, 12, 3356. https://doi.org/ width
10.3390/nano12193356

Academic Editor: Aurora Rizzo

Received: 2 September 2022 1. Introduction

Accepted: 21 September 2022 In recent years, nanostructured metamaterials (NMMs), also called artificial compos-
Published: 27 September 2022 ite nano-resonators, have received immense research interest in the research community
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
because of their distinctive electromagnetic properties, namely anomalous refraction, opti-
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
cal cloaking, multiplexed holograms, polarization transformation, bio-chemical sensing,
published maps and institutional affil- intelligent reflective devices, and many more [1–12]. The electromagnetic properties of
iations. the artificially engineered NMMs are strongly influenced by the structural parameters or
constituent materials instead of their composition [13–16]. Since their first conceptualiza-
tion in 1968 by Veselago et al., NMMs have been utilized in a wide range of engineering
applications, including chiral imaging, super lenses, perfect absorbers, color filtering, and
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. thermal imaging [17–28]. Therein, the metamaterial absorber (MMA) was firstly proposed
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. by Landy et al. in 2008 [29], and thereafter, plenty of device architectures have been de-
This article is an open access article signed for microwave, terahertz, and optical frequencies [15,30–37]. Thenceforth, various
distributed under the terms and functionalities, including wideband, narrow-band, polarization sensitive or insensitive,
conditions of the Creative Commons etc., have also been established in these MMAs [19,20,38–40].
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
Generally, in MMAs, surface plasmon polaritons, microcavity resonance, and elec-
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
tromagnetic polaritons based on strong light–matter interactions are used to secure an
4.0/).

Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12193356 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nanomaterials

Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 2 of 13

improved optical absorption in a wide or narrow wavelength zone [41,42]. Narrow-band

absorbers are usually employed in applications centered on filtering or optical sens-
ing [16,43–45]. However, some areas, such as thermal emitters, stealth technology, or
photovoltaic applications, are highly required for perfect absorption over a wide range
of wavelengths [46–48]. Wideband absorbers are preferred over narrow-band for such
applications. Hence, various strategies have been devised to obtain wideband optical ab-
sorption, such as multiple resonators, a multilayer structure, and metallic gratings [20,49].
However, these strategies mostly involve complex fabrication processes, high material costs,
and multifaceted designs that restrict their long-term practical applications. Therefore,
researchers have explored diverse strategies to secure wideband absorption characteristics.
For example, Qi et al. obtained wideband absorption by designing a perfect cylindrical-
based MMA. They achieved approximately 90% absorptivity covering a wide wavelength
range from the ultraviolet (UV) to infrared region [50]. Similarly, Xie et al. developed a
multi-band MMA that could generate up to four narrow-band peaks with a rectangular
resonator [51]. Moreover, an average absorption of over 91% in the visible to the infrared
region has been achieved in a multiscale geometry comprised of varied metallic nanoscale
gaps. In another study, Zhou et al. developed close-packed resonator clusters in the
nanotubes to widen the absorption bandwidth. In addition, they fine-tuned the diameters
of nanoporous templates to provide variable resonance frequencies [52]. Likewise, Hoa et al.
achieved absorption of over 90% in a wide range of 480 to 1480 nm with a multilayer nano-
absorber comprising a top meta-structure of 10 metal/dielectric layers [53]. Nonetheless,
these strategies have the disadvantages of a relatively low bandwidth, a multifaceted
cell pattern, and the involvement of noble metals (e.g., gold, silver, aluminum, etc.). It is
believed that the MA absorption can be enhanced by judiciously choosing the unit cell
design, structural parameters, and the right choice of metal.
Noble metals are costly and show poor thermal stability due to low melting points
that limit their utility in a high-temperature processing environment [20]. On the contrary,
various metallic materials such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), tungsten (W), and the nitrides
of various refractory metals, including titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN),
vanadium nitride (VN), and hafnium nitride (HfN), have shown promising potential as a
unit cell element in MMAs because of their superior characteristics that include a low cost,
excellent chemical stability, and a high melting point [21,33,54–56]. Likewise, the bulky size
of photonic devices and the low bandwidth can be resolved by employing fractals that are
repeated geometric structures arranged in a specific pattern. Based on repeated patterns,
fractals produce multi-resonant characteristics corresponding to wideband absorption
peaks in a single unit cell [57]. Our recent study [21] developed a wideband MMA based
on a novel hexagonal nano-ring-shaped fractal geometry. The proposed fractal MMA
demonstrated an ultra-compact thickness, angular robustness, and absorptivity of over
97% in a wide wavelength region (820–2520 nm). However, fractals based on a hexagonal
structure increase the fabrication complexity which may limit their practicality. Therefore,
it is still a quite challenging task to design a perfect broadband absorber having the
simultaneous characteristics of simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and high absorption in the
wide wavelength range.
In the present communication, the author’s motivation is to implement the simple
and cost-efficient design architecture of the nano-absorber, which showed ultrabroad
bandwidth, polarization insensitivity, single-layer device configuration, and thermal en-
durability. The nano-absorber has two metallic layers, and the middle layer is sandwiched
between the two metallic layers. The top and bottom layers are made of nickel metal; a
dielectric layer is a SiO2 substrate. The nickel (Ni) is integrated owing to its high melting
point, corrosion resistance, and low price as compared to the noble metals, namely gold
(Au), silver (Ag), etc. The proposed nano-absorber exhibits an average absorption of more
than 93% on a large wavelength spectrum from 400 to 2800 nm. Moreover, the incident and
polarization angles analysis on absorption characteristics are also characterized to notice its
 Nanomaterials 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 13

namely gold (Au), silver (Ag), etc. The proposed nano-absorber exhibits an average
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 absorption of more than 93% on a large wavelength spectrum from 400 to 2800 3 ofnm.
13
Moreover, the incident and polarization angles analysis on absorption characteristics are
also characterized to notice its angular stability. In light of the above features, this nano-
absorber could be useful for solar harvesting, thermal emission, and other optoelectronic
angular stability. In light of the above features, this nano-absorber could be useful for solar
applications.
harvesting, thermal emission, and other optoelectronic applications.

2.2.Design
DesignArchitecture
Architectureand andSimulation
SimulationofofUnit UnitCell
Cell
Theunit
The unitcell
cell schematic
schematic of of
thethe proposed
proposed nano nano metamaterial
metamaterial absorber
absorber (NMMA)(NMMA) is de-is
depicted in Figure 1. The unit structure is comprised of three layers.
picted in Figure 1. The unit structure is comprised of three layers. The top and bottom The top and bottom
layersareare
layers composed
composed of nickel,
of nickel, and quartz
and quartz (SiO2 ) (SiO 2) is used as a substrate sandwiched
is used as a substrate sandwiched between
between them. The electrical conductivity
them. The electrical conductivity of nickel is σ = 1.44 × of nickel is 10
σ 7= S/m.
1.44 ×The 107 dielectric
S/m. The constant
dielectric
constant and loss tangent of quartz (SiO 2) is equal to εr = 3.75 and tanδ = 0.0004,
and loss tangent of quartz (SiO2 ) is equal to εr = 3.75 and tanδ = 0.0004, respectively [21].
respectively
The top layer is[21]. The top
designed layerincidence
so that is designed
waves so cannot
that incidence
reflect and waves
controlcannot reflect and
the electromag-
control the electromagnetic waves. The top layer of nickel is a
netic waves. The top layer of nickel is a simple and planar circular ring integratedsimple and planar circular
on a
ring integrated
dielectric on aItdielectric
substrate. is simplesubstrate.
and easilyIt fabricable
is simple and easilymodern
through fabricable through modern
photolithography
photolithography
and and nanoimprint
nanoimprint lithography techniqueslithography
[58,59]. Intechniques
the literature, [58,59]. In thewideband
numerous literature,
numerous wideband nanostructured MMAs are reported
nanostructured MMAs are reported which have complex and multifaceted design in com-which have complex and
multifaceted design in comparison with our proposed NMMA.
parison with our proposed NMMA. The contributing nano circular ring provides the extra The contributing nano
circular
degree of ring
freedomprovides the extra
to fabricate degree of of
the prototype freedom to fabricate
this absorber due tothe prototype
its planar of this
geometry
absorber
and designdue to its planar geometry and design simplification.
simplification.

Figure 1. Schematic depiction of the proposed nano-absorber: (a) front outlook of the proposed
Figure 1. Schematic depiction of the proposed nano-absorber: (a) front outlook of the proposed
meta-cell composed of nano circular ring of nickel (Ni), (b) side view of the proposed unit cell of the
meta-cell composed of nano circular ring of nickel (Ni), (b) side view of the proposed unit cell of the
nano circular ring of nickel (Ni), and (c) 3D periodic array of the unit cells of the of nano circular
nano circular ring of nickel (Ni), and (c) 3D periodic array of the unit cells of the of nano circular ring
ring of nickel (Ni).
of nickel (Ni).
Furthermore, it is stable for broadband incidence angle because it is symmetrical
Furthermore, it is stable for broadband incidence angle because it is symmetrical from
from all directions. Oblique incidence angular stability mainly depends on the symmetry
all directions. Oblique incidence angular stability mainly depends on the symmetry of
of structures. If the unit cell structure contains asymmetry at some portion, then results
structures. If the unit cell structure contains asymmetry at some portion, then results will
will be affected by the variation of incidence angle. The optimal structure of the unit cell
be affected by the variation of incidence angle. The optimal structure of the unit cell is
shown in Figure 1. The thickness of the substrate is denoted as hs , which is equal to 60 nm.
The thickness of the top and bottom layers is denoted by tm and tg , which are equal to 15
and 50 nm, respectively. The outer and inner radii of the nickel ring are equal to R1 = 60 nm
and R2 = 80 nm. The periodicity of the unit cell is denoted by P, which is equal to 200 nm.
 Nanomaterials 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 13

is shown in Figure 1. The thickness of the substrate is denoted as hs, which is equal to 60
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 nm. The thickness of the top and bottom layers is denoted by tm and tg, which are equal 4 of 13 to
15 and 50 nm, respectively. The outer and inner radii of the nickel ring are equal to R1 =
60 nm and R2 = 80 nm. The periodicity of the unit cell is denoted by P, which is equal to
For200 nm. For CST-2018
simulation, simulation, CST-2018
software wassoftware was used. A frequency-domain
used. A frequency-domain solver is deployed solverto is
deployed to calculate the
calculate the absorption numerically. absorption numerically.
TheThe incident
incident electromagnetic
electromagnetic wave
wave is propagating
is propagating along
along thethe negative
negative z-axis.
z-axis. ThatThat
is is
why the “open add space” boundary condition is employed along
why the “open add space” boundary condition is employed along Zmin and Zmax . The same Z min and Zmax. The same

unit
unit cellcell structure
structure is repeatedly
is repeatedly spread
spread along
along thethe x-axis
x-axis andand y-axis,
y-axis, so the
so the “unit
“unit cell”
cell” option
option
is specified
is specified forfor boundary
boundary conditions.
conditions. WeWe define
define TETE andand
TMTM modes
modes as as electric
electric fields
fields or or
magnetic fields transverse along the y-axis. Figure 2a,b depict our
magnetic fields transverse along the y-axis. Figure 2a,b depict our study’s simulation results, study’s simulation
results,
using TM and usingTE TM
modes. andTheTE electromagnetic
modes. The electromagnetic
wave is intruded wave is intruded
on the meta-absorberon thefrommeta-
absorber from the z-axis, and it enters the structure because of
the z-axis, and it enters the structure because of the impedance matching between free the impedance matching
between
space and the free space and theAsmeta-absorber.
meta-absorber. the wave strikes Asany
thesurface,
wave strikes any be
there will surface, there R(λ),
a reflection will be
a reflectionT(λ),
transmission R(λ),andtransmission
absorption A(λ) T(λ),which
and absorption A(λ)
can be related as which
A(λ) =can 1 −beR(related
λ) − T(λ as). A(λ)
The =
1 − R(λ) − T(λ).
meta-absorber Theconsists
structure meta-absorber
of the topstructure
layer (ringconsists of the
geometry), thetop layer (ring
substrate quartz geometry),
(SiO2 ),
andthe
thesubstrate quartz (SiO
bottom metallic layer2),(nickel),
and thesobottom metallic layer
the transmission (nickel),
is zero (T(λ) =so0),the
andtransmission
absorption is
can be estimated through the reflection of wave meta-absorber (A(λ) = 1 − R(λwave
zero (T(λ) = 0), and absorption can be estimated through the reflection of meta-
)). Total
absorber ( A(λ) = 1 − R(λ)). Total reflection can2 be calculated through R(λ) = |S |2 as
reflection can be calculated through R(λ) = |S11 | as S11 corresponds to total reflected 11
𝑆𝑆11 corresponds
energy [33]. to total reflected energy [33].

Figure
Figure 2. Optical
2. Optical characteristics
characteristics of the
of the proposed
proposed NMMA:
NMMA: (a) (a) scattering
scattering parameters
parameters of the
of the proposed
proposed
NMMA, solid green line denotes the absorption curve, whereas red and blue solid lines
NMMA, solid green line denotes the absorption curve, whereas red and blue solid lines represent represent
the
the transmission and reflection parameters of the proposed NMMA, respectively, and (b) absolute
transmission and reflection parameters of the proposed NMMA, respectively, and (b) absolute value
value of the permittivity and permeability of the proposed NMMA.
of the permittivity and permeability of the proposed NMMA.

3. Results
3. Results andand Discussion
Discussion
Achieving
Achieving suitable
suitable optical
optical characteristics
characteristics of of absorbers
absorbers is essential
is essential to maximize
to maximize thethe
NMMA’s performance. Figure 2a depicts the optical properties, including
NMMA’s performance. Figure 2a depicts the optical properties, including the absorption, the absorption,
reflection,
reflection, andand transmission
transmission of theof the proposed
proposed NMMA.NMMA. The NMMA The demonstrates
NMMA demonstrates
the averagethe
average of
absorption absorption
over 93%of over
over 93% over
a broad rangea broad range of wavelengths
of wavelengths (400–2800 nm) (400–2800 nm) with a
with a maximum
maximum
absorption absorption
value at λmaxvalue
= 650 atnm,λmax
while= the
650 corresponding
nm, while the reflection
corresponding reflection and
and transmission
transmission
spectra spectra
were reduced were
to the reduced
lowest leveltoduring
the lowest levelwavelength
the same during the span.
same wavelength
The absorption span.
The absorption profiles of obtained
the NMMA were obtained considering
waves atincident
θ = 0 , waves
normalattoθ =
◦
profiles of the NMMA were considering incident
°
, normal to the NMMA.
the0NMMA.
Further,
Further, the reflection
the reflection coefficient
coefficient for the for the normally
normally incident
incident optical optical
light can belight can be
analyzed
analyzed
using using the
the following following
equation [20].equation [20].

Z −𝑍𝑍Z 𝑀𝑀 − 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜
Γ(ωΓ(𝜔𝜔)
)= M = o (1) (1)
Z M +𝑍𝑍Z
𝑀𝑀o + 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜
TheThe impedance
impedance of the
of the nano-absorber
nano-absorber is symbolized
is symbolized as Z M asand
𝑍𝑍𝑀𝑀 itand it depends
depends on theon
fre-the
frequency,
quency, whereas
whereas the impedance
the impedance of the freeof the isfree
space space
given as Zois. The
given as 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜 .mathematical
following The following
mathematical
expression gives expression gives these impedances:
these impedances:
r
µ M µo
ZM = (2)
ε Mεo
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 5 of 13

r
µo
Zo = = 377Ω (3)
εo
In Equations (2) and (3), ε o and µo signify the permittivity and permeability of the
free space while ε M and µ M characterize the effective permittivity and permeability of the
nano-absorber, respectively. The permittivity and permeability of the nano-absorber are
associated with the reflection and transmission coefficients as follows [60].

2 1 − (S21 + S11 )
εM = √ (4)
−kd 1 + (S21 + S11 )
2 1 − (S21 − S11 )
µM = √ (5)
−kd 1 + (S21 − S11 )
where d is the height of the substrate and k shows the wavenumber and k = ω/c. As
S11 and S21 go to zero, ε M and µ M become equal, and Z M from Equation (7) is matched
to Zo . The impedance of the nano-absorber depends on the relative permittivity (ε r )
and relative permeability
q (µr ). As stated earlier, the impedance of the nano-absorber is
µ µM o
given by Z M = ε M ε o (where ε M and µ M show the permittivity and permeability of the
nano-absorber, respectively). If the relative permittivity and relative permeability of the
meta-structure are equivalent, the normalized impedance Z/Zo of the nano-absorber is
unity which satisfies the matching condition for perfect absorption. For the discussed
nano-absorber, the absolute values of permittivity and permeability are identical to each
other in a large optical window (400–2800 nm), as shown in Figure 2b. So, it is obvious from
Figure 2a that the absorption of the nano-absorber is over 90% for the above-mentioned
optical window, i.e., 400–2800 nm.
In order to completely understand the proposed nano-absorber, the key material pa-
rameters, namely the relative permittivity, relative permeability, impedance, and refractive
index, are plotted using S-parameters. When the S-parameters are gathered by simulat-
ing the nano-absorbing device, these parameters can be computed using the following
equations [61,62].  
−iln eink0 d
n= (6)
k0 d
p
eink0 d = X ± i 1 − X2 (7)
1
= 2 + S2

(8)
2S21 1 − S11 21
In the above series of Equations (6)–(8), k0 and d denote the wavenumber and thickness
of the absorber, respectively, and n is the refractive index of the nano-absorber. The relative
permittivity, ε r , and relative permeability, µr , can be computed as follows [61,62].
n
εr = (9)
Z
µr = nZ (10)
Figure 3a,b illustrate the real and imaginary parts of the relative permittivity (ε r ) and
relative permeability (µr ), respectively, and Figure 3c illustrates the complex values of the
refractive index. Because the ε r and µr depend on the S-parameters, the equation gives the
normalized effective impedance of the surface. Figure 4d demonstrates that the real value
of the normalized complex impedance is approaching toward 1 and the imaginary part is
fluctuating between 0 and 0.5 over a large optical window, which confirms the impedance
match between the meta-structure and free space. Therefore, the proposed NMMA exhibits
 Nanomaterials 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 13

Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 value of the normalized complex impedance is approaching toward 1 and the imaginary 6 of 13

part is fluctuating between 0 and 0.5 over a large optical window, which confirms the
impedance match between the meta-structure and free space. Therefore, the proposed
anNMMA
averageexhibits
absorptionan rate
average
of over absorption
93% from rate
400oftoover
280093%
nm. from 400 to 2800effective
The normalized nm. The
normalized
impedance effective
of the proposedimpedance
NMMA is ofgiven
the proposed NMMAequation
by the following is given by the following
[20].
equation [20]. v
u 2 2
u (1 +(1S11+)𝑆𝑆11−)2S− 2
21 𝑆𝑆21 1 +1S+
= = 11𝑆𝑆11
=𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
Ze f f 𝑍𝑍 = � (11)
(11)
t
2
−)𝑆𝑆 −)2S− 𝑆𝑆 2 1 −1S−11𝑆𝑆
(1 −(1S11 11
2
21 21 11

Figure
Figure 3. 3. Optical
Optical material
material parameters
parameters of of
thethe proposed
proposed NMMA:
NMMA: (a)(a) complex
complex value
value of of permittivity
permittivity
(ε), (b) complex value of permeability (µ), (c) complex value of refractive index (n), and (d) complex
(ε), (b) complex value of permeability (µ), (c) complex value of refractive index (n), and (d) complex
value of the impedance (Z).
value of the impedance (Z).

Figure
Figure 4ashow
4a,b and bthe
show the electric
surface surfacefield
electric field
of the of the nickel-based
designed designed nickel-based nano-
nano-absorber
forabsorber for two
two different different
operating operating points
wavelength wavelength
(λ = 650 points (λ = nm)
and 2550 650 and 2550 itnm)
at which at which
induces two it
induces two
plasmonic plasmonic
resonances. Theresonances. The top
top row of Figure row of Figure
4 explicates 4 explicates
the electric the electric field
field accumulation of
theaccumulation of the TE-wave polarized light of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is visibly
TE-wave polarized light of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is visibly observed that
theobserved that the
electric field electric field
is maximally is maximally
confined confined and
to the top-inner to the top-inner and
bottom-inner bottom-inner
portion of the
portion of the nickel-based circular unit cell. The magnitude of the electric field is
nickel-based circular unit cell. The magnitude of the electric field is prominently increased
prominently
toward the outer increased toward
side of the thering
circular outerat side of the
the top andcircular
bottom ring
portionat the
for top and bottom
the operating
wavelength of 2550 nm. Further, the dipole-like phenomena are generated
portion for the operating wavelength of 2550 nm. Further, the dipole-like phenomena in Figure 4 atare
two wavelengths, where the plasmonic resonances are generated. Moreover,
generated in Figure 4 at two wavelengths, where the plasmonic resonances are generated. the bottom
row of Figurethe
Moreover, 4 highlights
bottom rowthe electric
of Figurefield
4 characteristics
highlights theof the proposed
electric nano-absorberofby
field characteristics the
considering the TM-wave polarized light. In fact, the TE- and
proposed nano-absorber by considering the TM-wave polarized light. In fact,TM-modes are perpendicular
the TE- and
toTM-modes
each other, areso their electric field
perpendicular distribution
to each other, sois also
their perpendicular to each other,
electric field distribution is as
also
clearly noticed in Figure 4. Resultantly, these electric field distributions induce
perpendicular to each other, as clearly noticed in Figure 4. Resultantly, these electric field the electric
resonance that causes
distributions inducethetheabsorption.
electric resonance that causes the absorption.
Next, we examine the dependence of the absorption on the polarization angles to
evaluate the angular stability of the proposed absorber configuration. Figure 5 shows the
absorption profile of the NMMA under various polarization angles ranging from 10◦ to
90◦ . It was observed that the NMMA exhibits a uniform and stable absorption profile at all
indicated angles (0–90◦ ) that can be attributed to the symmetric nature of the participating
circular ring [63–65]. Because the shape of the proposed absorber has a four-fold symmetry
in its design, it shows a polarization-insensitive response (the absorption is identical for all
◦
the polarization angles by considering the normal incident case, θ = 0 ).
 Nanomaterials 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 13
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 7 of 13

Figure 4. Surface electric field distribution of the proposed NMMA: (a) TE-wave polarized at λ =
650 nm, (b) TE-wave polarized at λ = 2550 nm, (c) TM-wave polarized at λ = 650 nm, (d) TM-wave
polarized at λ = 2550 nm.

Next, we examine the dependence of the absorption on the polarization angles to

evaluate the angular stability of the proposed absorber configuration. Figure 5 shows the
absorption profile of the NMMA under various polarization angles ranging from 10° to
90°. It was observed that the NMMA exhibits a uniform and stable absorption profile at
all indicated angles (0–90°) that can be attributed to the symmetric nature of the
Figure
Figure 4.4. Surface
participating
Surface electric
circular
electric field
ring distribution
[63–65].
field ofofthe
Because
distribution theproposed
the shape ofNMMA:
proposed the (a)(a)
proposed
NMMA: TE-wave polarized
absorber
TE-wave has a at λat=
four-
polarized
650 nm, (b) TE-wave polarized at λ = 2550 nm, (c) TM-wave polarized at λ = 650 nm, (d) TM-wave
λfold
= 650symmetry in its design,
nm, (b) TE-wave it shows
polarized a polarization-insensitive
at λ = 2550 nm, (c) TM-wave polarizedresponse (thenm,
at λ = 650 absorption
(d) TM-
polarized at λ = 2550 nm.
is identical for all the polarization
wave polarized at λ = 2550 nm. angles by considering the normal incident case, 𝜃𝜃 = 0° ).
Next, we examine the dependence of the absorption on the polarization angles to
evaluate the angular stability of the proposed absorber configuration. Figure 5 shows the
absorption profile of the NMMA under various polarization angles ranging from 10° to
90°. It was observed that the NMMA exhibits a uniform and stable absorption profile at
all indicated angles (0–90°) that can be attributed to the symmetric nature of the
participating circular ring [63–65]. Because the shape of the proposed absorber has a four-
fold symmetry in its design, it shows a polarization-insensitive response (the absorption
is identical for all the polarization angles by considering the normal incident case, 𝜃𝜃 = 0° ).

Figure5.5.The
Figure Theoptical
opticalabsorption
absorptionrate
rateofofthe
theproposed
proposedNMMA
NMMAunder
underthe
thevariation
variationofofpolarization
polarization
anglesofofthe
angles theincoming
incominglight.
light.

The reflection coefficients are strongly influenced by the oblique incident and refraction
angles [20,21].
Γ TE = Zm cosθi − Zo cosθt /Zm cosθi + Zo cosθt (12)
Γ TM = Zm cosθt − Zo cosθi /Zm cosθt + Zo cosθi (13)
where Zm is the impedance of the metamaterial, Zo represents the impedance of the free
Figureand
space, 5. The optical
θi and absorption
θt denote the rate of the and
incidence proposed NMMA under
transmitting angle,the variation ofHenceforth,
respectively. polarization
angles of the
by Snell’s law,incoming light.
Zo sinθt
= (14)
Zm sinθi
 Γ𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑡𝑡 − 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 ⁄𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑡𝑡 + 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 (13)
where 𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚 is the impedance of the metamaterial, 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜 represents the impedance of the free
space, and 𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 and 𝜃𝜃𝑡𝑡 denote the incidence and transmitting angle, respectively.
Henceforth, by Snell’s law,
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 𝑍𝑍𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃𝑡𝑡 8 of 13
= (14)
𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖
From Equations (1) and (2), the maximum achieved absorption for the TE- and TM-
From Equations (1) and (2), the maximum achieved absorption for the TE- and TM-
polarization can be written as
polarization can be written as
(𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ) = 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 − 𝜀𝜀 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 − 𝜇𝜇2 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2 𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 = 0, (15)
( A TE ) = µε − ε2 sin2 θi − µ2 cos2 θi = 0, (15)
(𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ) = 𝜇𝜇 − 𝜀𝜀𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 2
𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 − 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2
𝜃𝜃 = 0. (16)
( A TM ) = µ − εsin2 θi − µεcos 2
θi = 0.𝑖𝑖 (16)
Further, the absorption profiles of the NMMA for both polarizations (TE and TM) are
Further, the absorption profiles of the NMMA for both polarizations (TE and TM) are
shown in Figure 6a,b. At lower oblique incidence angles (θ <◦ 30°), both the TE and TM
shown in Figure 6a,b. At lower oblique incidence angles (θ < 30 ), both the TE and TM
modes exhibit relatively high absorption of over 85% with some fluctuations. For the TE
modes exhibit relatively high absorption of over 85% with some fluctuations. For the TE
mode, the NMMA maintains a high absorption efficiency of over 80% up to θ = 50° in a
mode, the NMMA maintains a high absorption efficiency of over 80% up to θ = 50◦ in a
wide wavelength range (300–2800 nm) as depicted by the pink line. By contrast, a better
wide wavelength range (300–2800 nm) as depicted by the pink line. By contrast, a better
absorption profile of over 85% was achieved in the TM mode up to θ = 60° in the same
absorption profile of over 85% was achieved in the TM mode up to θ = 60◦ in the same
wavelength region, with a near-unity absorption in the visible wavelength region.
wavelength region, with a near-unity absorption in the visible wavelength region. Overall,
Overall, the proposed NMMA exhibits excellent absorption characteristics (80%) at varied
the proposed NMMA exhibits excellent absorption characteristics (80%) at varied oblique
oblique incident angles in a broad wavelength range, demonstrating its robustness. In
incident angles in a broad wavelength range, demonstrating its robustness. In each incident
each
angle, theincident
incomingangle, the light
optical incoming optical light
has different rotations, has different rotations,design
and the proposed and thefaces
proposed
an
design faces an anisotropic effect causing
anisotropic effect causing the variation in absorption.the variation in absorption.

Figure
Figure 6. Optical
6. Optical absorption
absorption raterate of proposed
of the the proposed
NMMA NMMA under
under the variation
the variation of incident
of incident angles
angles of of
the incoming
the incoming light:
light: (a) TE-wave
(a) TE-wave polarized
polarized optical
optical lightlight
andand (b) TM-wave
(b) TM-wave polarized
polarized optical
optical light.
light.

Table
Table 1 helps
1 helps to understand
to understand the comparative
the comparative analysisanalysis
of thisof this research
research with thewith
pre-the
previously
viously published
published work onwork on MMAs.
MMAs. In theInpresent
the present
study,study,
we usedwe used a single
a single nano-ring
nano-ring of of
Ni which
Ni which hashas
many many advantages
advantages overover
thethe reported
reported studies,
studies, including
including a simple
a simple geometry,
geometry,
being
being easily
easily fabricable,
fabricable, largelarge operational
operational bandwidth,
bandwidth, etc.,etc., whereas
whereas the the remaining
remaining design
design
architectures are either composed of multiple-stacked layers or have a lower operational
architectures are either composed of multiple-stacked layers or have a lower operational
bandwidth
bandwidth as compared
as compared to our to our proposed
proposed NMMA.NMMA.So, in lightSo,
of in light
all the of all theattributes,
mentioned mentioned
ourattributes,
NMMA would our NMMA
be a greatwould
additionbe ina the
great addition
stream in the stream
of nanostructured of nanostructured
absorbers.
absorbers.
Further, the effects on the absorption properties of the major structural parametric
variation are shown in Figure 7. The outer radius of the nickel ring is varied in the range of
50 to 90 nm, as shown in Figure 7a. The averaged absorption of the NMMA remains near
unity at radii of 60 and 70 nm in the wavelength range of 450 to 1600 nm. In addition, at
the radius of 80 nm, the overall averaged absorption remains stable around 90% during the
entire wavelength range. Meanwhile, at the higher radius (90 nm), the absorption tends to
decrease in the mid-wavelength region (800–1200 nm), followed by increasing behavior at
the higher wavelength region. Overall, the NMMA demonstrates an averaged absorption
of over 90% at all radii for the entire wavelength region (400–2800 nm). Thereafter, the
inner radius of the nickel ring is also altered from 40 to 80 nm to highlight its impact
on the absorption features of the proposed NMMA. Figure 7b displays the absorption
results and it is obvious in Figure 7b that it remains above 90% for all the mentioned values
(R1 = 40–80 nm), but it slightly decreases at the higher value of R1 .
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 9 of 13

Table 1. Comparison of the reported metamaterial-based nano-absorbers with the present study.

Optical
Design Angular Polarization
Material Device Layers Bandwidth
Configuration Robustness Insensitivity
(A ≥ 90%)
Stacked-layers [20] TiN, TiO2 Multiple 200–2800 nm θ = 60◦ Yes
Multiple-hexagons
SiO2 , Ni Single 820–2700 nm θ = 60◦ No
(Fractal) [21]
Nano-ellipses
SiO2 , W Single 400–750 nm θ = 60◦ No
(Fractal) [33]
Nano-cylinders [52] Ni Single 400–650 nm θ = 60◦ Yes
Frustum-like
Si, Au Multiple 480–1480 nm θ = 60◦ Yes
nano-cones
Nanomaterials 2022,[53]
12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 10 of 13
Nano-triangular
SiO2 , Cr Single 400–750 nm θ = 60◦ Yes
rings [54]
◦
Nano-pillars [66] the
Ni minimum value of around 70%400–760
Single at the longer
nm wavelength. θ = 70Overall, the variation
Yes in the
Nano-cubes [67] P MgF
SiO2 , Ti, has 2not
, Alsignificantly influenced the
Multiple NMMA’s
400–1500 nm absorption θ =characteristics.
60 ◦ Yes
Nano-disks [68] For
SiO2 , TiN, TiO2 comparison, the
Multiple averaged absorption
316–1426 nm of the absorber
θ = 50comprising
◦ various
Yes metals,
including Cu, Al, Ag, Au, Cr, W, and Ni, is illustrated in Figure 7f. It is evident that Ni
Nano-hexagonal
rings [69]
hasNi
AlN, the highest averaged
Single absorption of overnm
380–2500 93%, almost θthree-folds
= 60◦ higher thanYesall other
metals with the same structural parameters in all cases. The metals Cu, Al, Ag, and Au
Nano-circular ring
SiOexhibited
2 , Ni an averaged
Singleabsorption 400–2800
below 30%,nm while Cr and W◦ showed an absorption
θ = 60 Yes of
(This study)
42 and 35%, respectively.

Figure
Figure7.7.Optical
Opticalabsorption
absorptionrate
rateof
ofthe
theproposed
proposedNMMANMMAunder underthethevariation
variationofofvarious
variousgeometric
geometric
parameters:
parameters: (a) outer radius of the top nano circular ring, (b) inner radius of thetop
(a) outer radius of the top nano circular ring, (b) inner radius of the topnano
nanocircular
circular
ring,
ring,(c)
(c)thickness
thickness of
of the
the top
top nano circular ring,
nano circular ring, (d)
(d) thickness
thicknessof
ofthe
thedielectric
dielectricspacer,
spacer,(e)(e)periodicity
periodicityof
of the unit cell, and (f) comparison of the average absorption rate of the different metals, which are
the unit cell, and (f) comparison of the average absorption rate of the different metals, which are used
used in designing the top nano circular ring.
in designing the top nano circular ring.

4. Conclusions
Furthermore, the impact of the thickness of the nickel nano-ring is also inspected
This paper
by varying investigated
its value a simple
from 5 to 30 nm.and
It iseasily manufactured
noticed in Figure 7c large bandwidth
that the visible-
tp has almost no
infrared Ni-based nano-absorber for a large wavelength window. The discussed nano-
absorber comprises a planar circular ring of Ni metal grown over a lossy dielectric
substrate of SiO2, which is backed by a Ni-plated ground sheet. The proposed absorber
indicates an average absorption value of 93% for a broad optical window, starting from
400 to 2800 nm. In addition, the absorption features were also inspected under the rotation
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 10 of 13

significant contribution to change the absorption characteristics of the proposed NMMA.

Next, the dielectric substrate’s thickness varies between 40 and 80 nm to examine the
thickness-dependent absorption evolution of the NMMA (Figure 7d). At shorter wave-
lengths (<800 nm), the NMMA demonstrates stable absorption and is not strongly influ-
enced by the substrate thickness variation. In the mid-wavelength region (1000–2000 nm),
a decrease in the thickness of the substrate results in the decline of the NMMA’s absorption
with an average value of approximately 90%. At wavelengths >2000 nm, the NMMA
exhibits an increase in the absorption with the maximum value of 95% at hs = 80 nm.
The impact of the variation in the periodicity of the unit cell on the absorption of the
NMMA is shown in Figure 7e. By decreasing the P of the unit cell, an increment in the
absorption of the NMMA is observed, with averaged values of around 90%. Though, at the
lowest P (180 nm), the absorption was substantially decreased after 2000 nm, yielding the
minimum value of around 70% at the longer wavelength. Overall, the variation in the P
has not significantly influenced the NMMA’s absorption characteristics.
For comparison, the averaged absorption of the absorber comprising various metals,
including Cu, Al, Ag, Au, Cr, W, and Ni, is illustrated in Figure 7f. It is evident that Ni
has the highest averaged absorption of over 93%, almost three-folds higher than all other
metals with the same structural parameters in all cases. The metals Cu, Al, Ag, and Au
exhibited an averaged absorption below 30%, while Cr and W showed an absorption of
42 and 35%, respectively.

4. Conclusions
This paper investigated a simple and easily manufactured large bandwidth visible-
infrared Ni-based nano-absorber for a large wavelength window. The discussed nano-
absorber comprises a planar circular ring of Ni metal grown over a lossy dielectric substrate
of SiO2 , which is backed by a Ni-plated ground sheet. The proposed absorber indicates an
average absorption value of 93% for a broad optical window, starting from 400 to 2800 nm.
In addition, the absorption features were also inspected under the rotation of incident
and polarization angles of the incoming optical light. It was found that the absorber
maintained its average absorption of 80% till θ = 60◦ and also noted the polarization-
insensitive behavior is owing to the symmetric geometry of the Ni-based circular ring.
Furthermore, the absorption characteristics were also analyzed under the influence of
different design parameters of the nano-absorber. The surface electric field plots were
also studied to highlight the absorption mechanism. Finally, this type of nanostructured
absorber could find interesting applications in thermal imaging, energy harvesting, and
thermal photovoltaics.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, R.M.H.B. and M.A.N.; methodology, R.M.H.B. and M.A.S.;
software, R.M.H.B.; validation, R.M.H.B. and M.A.S.; formal analysis, R.M.H.B., M.A.S. and M.A.N.;
investigation, R.M.H.B. and M.A.N.; resources, Y.M.; data curation, R.M.H.B., M.A.S. and M.A.N.;
writing—original draft preparation, M.A.S. and R.M.H.B.; writing—review and editing, M.Q.M. and
Y.M.; visualization, M.Q.M., M.Z. and Y.M.; supervision, Y.M.; project administration, Y.M.; funding
acquisition, Y.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: Y.M. acknowledges the research funding to the Innovative Technologies Laboratories (ITL)
from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.
Data Availability Statement: All the relevant data are presented in this research article but may be
obtained from the authors upon reasonable request.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

References
1. Grady, N.K.; Heyes, J.E.; Chowdhury, D.R.; Zeng, Y.; Reiten, M.T.; Azad, A.K.; Taylor, A.J.; Dalvit, D.A.; Chen, H.-T. Terahertz
metamaterials for linear polarization conversion and anomalous refraction. Science 2013, 340, 1304–1307. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. Valentine, J.; Li, J.; Zentgraf, T.; Bartal, G.; Zhang, X. An optical cloak made of dielectrics. Nat. Mater. 2009, 8, 568–571. [CrossRef]
[PubMed]
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 11 of 13

3. Javed, I.; Kim, J.; Naveed, M.A.; Oh, D.K.; Jeon, D.; Kim, I.; Zubair, M.; Massoud, Y.; Mehmood, M.Q.; Rho, J. Broad-Band
Polarization-Insensitive Metasurface Holography with a Single-Phase Map. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 36019–36026.
[CrossRef]
4. Naveed, M.A.; Ansari, M.A.; Kim, I.; Badloe, T.; Kim, J.; Oh, D.K.; Riaz, K.; Tauqeer, T.; Younis, U.; Saleem, M. Optical spin-
symmetry breaking for high-efficiency directional helicity-multiplexed metaholograms. Microsyst. Nanoeng. 2021, 7, 5. [CrossRef]
[PubMed]
5. Ahmad, T.; Rahim, A.A.; Bilal, R.M.H.; Noor, A.; Maab, H.; Naveed, M.A.; Madni, A.; Ali, M.M.; Saeed, M.A. Ultrawideband
Cross-Polarization Converter Using Anisotropic Reflective Metasurface. Electronics 2022, 11, 487. [CrossRef]
6. Huang, H.; Xia, H.; Xie, W.; Guo, Z.; Li, H.; Xie, D. Design of broadband graphene-metamaterial absorbers for permittivity
sensing at mid-infrared regions. Sci. Rep. 2018, 8, 4183. [CrossRef]
7. Huang, C.; Zappone, A.; Alexandropoulos, G.C.; Debbah, M.; Yuen, C. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for energy efficiency in
wireless communication. IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun. 2019, 18, 4157–4170. [CrossRef]
8. Alam, M.; Massoud, Y. RLC ladder model for scattering in single metallic nanoparticles. IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. 2006, 5, 491–498.
[CrossRef]
9. Hosseini, A.; Massoud, Y. Nanoscale surface plasmon based resonator using rectangular geometry. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2007, 90,
181102. [CrossRef]
10. Hosseini, A.; Nejati, H.; Massoud, Y. Modeling and design methodology for metal-insulator-metal plasmonic Bragg reflectors.
Opt. Express 2008, 16, 1475–1480. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
11. Khan, M.A.; Mehmood, M.Q.; Massoud, Y. High-Temperature Annealing Effects on Atomically Thin Tungsten Diselenide
Field-Effect Transistor. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 8119. [CrossRef]
12. Khaliq, H.S.; Kim, J.; Naeem, T.; Riaz, K.; Badloe, T.; Seong, J.; Akbar, J.; Zubair, M.; Mehmood, M.Q.; Massoud, Y. Broadband
Chiro-Optical Effects for Futuristic Meta-Holographic Displays. Adv. Opt. Mater. 2022, 2201175. [CrossRef]
13. Smith, D.R.; Padilla, W.J.; Vier, D.; Nemat-Nasser, S.C.; Schultz, S. Composite medium with simultaneously negative permeability
and permittivity. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2000, 84, 4184. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
14. Massoud, Y.; Nieuwoudt, A. Modeling and design challenges and solutions for carbon nanotube-based interconnect in future
high performance integrated circuits. ACM J. Emerg. Technol. Comput. Syst. (JETC) 2006, 2, 155–196. [CrossRef]
15. Lee, D.; So, S.; Hu, G.; Kim, M.; Badloe, T.; Cho, H.; Kim, J.; Kim, H.; Qiu, C.-W.; Rho, J. Hyperbolic metamaterials: Fusing
artificial structures to natural 2D materials. eLight 2022, 2, 1–23. [CrossRef]
16. Wang, M.; Hu, G.; Chand, S.; Cotrufo, M.; Abate, Y.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Grosso, G.; Qiu, C.-W.; Alù, A. Spin-orbit-locked
hyperbolic polariton vortices carrying reconfigurable topological charges. eLight 2022, 2, 12. [CrossRef]
17. Rodrigues, S.P.; Lan, S.; Kang, L.; Cui, Y.; Cai, W. Nonlinear imaging and spectroscopy of chiral metamaterials. Adv. Mater.
2014, 26, 6157–6162. [CrossRef]
18. Mehmood, M.; Mei, S.; Hussain, S.; Huang, K.; Siew, S.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, T.; Ling, X.; Liu, H.; Teng, J. Visible-frequency
metasurface for structuring and spatially multiplexing optical vortices. Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 2533–2539. [CrossRef]
19. Bilal, R.; Baqir, M.; Iftikhar, A.; Naqvi, S.; Mughal, M.; Ali, M. Polarization-controllable and angle-insensitive multiband
Yagi-Uda-shaped metamaterial absorber in the microwave regime. Opt. Mater. Express 2022, 12, 798–810. [CrossRef]
20. Mehrabi, S.; Bilal, R.M.H.; Naveed, M.A.; Ali, M.M. Ultra-broadband nanostructured metamaterial absorber based on stacked
square-layers of TiN/TiO2 . Opt. Mater. Express 2022, 12, 2199–2211. [CrossRef]
21. Naveed, M.A.; Bilal, R.M.H.; Baqir, M.A.; Bashir, M.M.; Ali, M.M.; Rahim, A.A. Ultrawideband fractal metamaterial absorber
made of nickel operating in the UV to IR spectrum. Opt. Express 2021, 29, 42911–42923. [CrossRef]
22. Hu, Y.; Luo, X.; Chen, Y.; Liu, Q.; Li, X.; Wang, Y.; Liu, N.; Duan, H. 3D-Integrated metasurfaces for full-colour holography.
Light Sci. Appl. 2019, 8, 86. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
23. Wang, H.; Sivan, V.P.; Mitchell, A.; Rosengarten, G.; Phelan, P.; Wang, L. Highly efficient selective metamaterial absorber for
high-temperature solar thermal energy harvesting. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2015, 137, 235–242. [CrossRef]
24. Hosseini, A.; Massoud, Y. Optical range microcavities and filters using multiple dielectric layers in metal-insulator-metal
structures. JOSA A 2007, 24, 221–224. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
25. Hosseini, A.; Nejati, H.; Massoud, Y. Design of a maximally flat optical low pass filter using plasmonic nanostrip waveguides.
Opt. Express 2007, 15, 15280–15286. [CrossRef]
26. Abbas, M.A.; Kim, J.; Rana, A.S.; Kim, I.; Rehman, B.; Ahmad, Z.; Massoud, Y.; Seong, J.; Badloe, T.; Park, K. Nanostructured
chromium-based broadband absorbers and emitters to realize thermally stable solar thermophotovoltaic systems. Nanoscale
2022, 14, 6425–6436. [CrossRef]
27. Ijaz, S.; Rana, A.S.; Ahmad, Z.; Zubair, M.; Massoud, Y.; Mehmood, M.Q. The Dawn of Metadevices: From Contemporary Designs
to Exotic Applications. Adv. Devices Instrum. 2022, 2022, 9861078. [CrossRef]
28. Ma, Q.; Gao, W.; Xiao, Q.; Ding, L.; Gao, T.; Zhou, Y.; Gao, X.; Yan, T.; Liu, C.; Gu, Z. Directly wireless communication of human
minds via non-invasive brain-computer-metasurface platform. elight 2022, 2, 11. [CrossRef]
29. Landy, N.I.; Sajuyigbe, S.; Mock, J.J.; Smith, D.R.; Padilla, W.J. Perfect metamaterial absorber. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 100, 207402.
[CrossRef]
30. Ding, F.; Cui, Y.; Ge, X.; Jin, Y.; He, S. Ultra-broadband microwave metamaterial absorber. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2012, 100, 103506.
[CrossRef]
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 12 of 13

31. Bilal, R.; Naveed, M.; Baqir, M.; Ali, M.; Rahim, A. Design of a wideband terahertz metamaterial absorber based on Pythagorean-
tree fractal geometry. Opt. Mater. Express 2020, 10, 3007–3020. [CrossRef]
32. Naveed, M.A.; Bilal, R.M.H.; Rahim, A.A.; Baqir, M.A.; Ali, M.M. Polarization-insensitive dual-wideband fractal meta-absorber
for terahertz applications. Appl. Opt. 2021, 60, 9160–9166. [CrossRef]
33. Bilal, R.; Saeed, M.; Choudhury, P.; Baqir, M.; Kamal, W.; Ali, M.; Rahim, A. Elliptical metallic rings-shaped fractal metamaterial
absorber in the visible regime. Sci. Rep. 2020, 10, 14035. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
34. Hosseini, A.; Nieuwoudt, A.; Massoud, Y. Optimizing dielectric strips over a metallic substrate for subwavelength light
confinement. IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 2007, 19, 522–524. [CrossRef]
35. Hosseini, A.; Nieuwoudt, A.; Massoud, Y. Efficient simulation of subwavelength plasmonic waveguides using implicitly restarted
Arnoldi. Optics Express 2006, 14, 7291–7298. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
36. Li, L.; Zhao, H.; Liu, C.; Li, L.; Cui, T.J. Intelligent metasurfaces: Control, communication and computing. eLight 2022, 2, 7.
[CrossRef]
37. Nieuwoudt, A.; Massoud, Y. Understanding the impact of inductance in carbon nanotube bundles for VLSI interconnect using
scalable modeling techniques. IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. 2006, 5, 758–765. [CrossRef]
38. Deng, G.; Chen, P.; Yang, J.; Yin, Z.; Qiu, L. Graphene-based tunable polarization sensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber. Opt.
Commun. 2016, 380, 101–107. [CrossRef]
39. Shen, H.; Liu, F.; Liu, C.; Zeng, D.; Guo, B.; Wei, Z.; Wang, F.; Tan, C.; Huang, X.; Meng, H. A polarization-insensitive and
wide-angle terahertz absorber with ring-porous patterned graphene metasurface. Nanomaterials 2020, 10, 1410. [CrossRef]
[PubMed]
40. Alam, M.; Massoud, Y. A closed-form analytical model for single nanoshells. IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. 2006, 5, 265–272. [CrossRef]
41. Lim, S.; Mar, W.; Matheu, P.; Derkacs, D.; Yu, E. Photocurrent spectroscopy of optical absorption enhancement in silicon
photodiodes via scattering from surface plasmon polaritons in gold nanoparticles. J. Appl. Phys. 2007, 101, 104309. [CrossRef]
42. Yan, Z.; Tang, C.; Wu, G.; Tang, Y.; Gu, P.; Chen, J.; Liu, Z.; Huang, Z. Perfect absorption and refractive-index sensing by
metasurfaces composed of cross-shaped hole arrays in metal substrate. Nanomaterials 2020, 11, 63. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
43. Zhang, Y.; Lin, P.; Lin, Y.-S. Tunable split-disk metamaterial absorber for sensing application. Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 598.
[CrossRef] [PubMed]
44. Grant, J.; McCrindle, I.J.; Cumming, D.R. Multi-spectral materials: Hybridisation of optical plasmonic filters, a mid infrared
metamaterial absorber and a terahertz metamaterial absorber. Opt. Express 2016, 24, 3451–3463. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
45. Jin, Z.; Janoschka, D.; Deng, J.; Ge, L.; Dreher, P.; Frank, B.; Hu, G.; Ni, J.; Yang, Y.; Li, J. Phyllotaxis-inspired nanosieves with
multiplexed orbital angular momentum. eLight 2021, 1, 5. [CrossRef]
46. Iwaszczuk, K.; Strikwerda, A.C.; Fan, K.; Zhang, X.; Averitt, R.D.; Jepsen, P.U. Flexible metamaterial absorbers for stealth
applications at terahertz frequencies. Opt. Express 2012, 20, 635–643. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
47. Mason, J.; Smith, S.; Wasserman, D. Strong absorption and selective thermal emission from a midinfrared metamaterial. Appl.
Phys. Lett. 2011, 98, 241105. [CrossRef]
48. Bilal, R.; Baqir, M.; Choudhury, P.; Naveed, M.; Ali, M.; Rahim, A. Ultrathin broadband metasurface-based absorber comprised of
tungsten nanowires. Results Phys. 2020, 19, 103471. [CrossRef]
49. Kenney, M.; Grant, J.; Shah, Y.D.; Escorcia-Carranza, I.; Humphreys, M.; Cumming, D.R. Octave-spanning broadband absorption
of terahertz light using metasurface fractal-cross absorbers. Acs Photonics 2017, 4, 2604–2612. [CrossRef]
50. Qi, B.; Zhao, Y.; Niu, T.; Mei, Z. Ultra-broadband metamaterial absorber based on all-metal nanostructures. J. Phys. D Appl. Phys.
2019, 52, 425304. [CrossRef]
51. Xie, Q.; Dong, G.; Wang, B.-X.; Huang, W.-Q. Design of quad-band terahertz metamaterial absorber using a perforated rectangular
resonator for sensing applications. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 2018, 13, 137. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
52. Zhou, Y.; Luo, M.; Shen, S.; Zhang, H.; Pu, D.; Chen, L. Cost-effective near-perfect absorber at visible frequency based on
homogenous meta-surface nickel with two-dimension cylinder array. Opt. Express 2018, 26, 27482–27491. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
53. Hoa, N.T.Q.; Lam, P.H.; Tung, P.D.; Tuan, T.S.; Nguyen, H. Numerical study of a wide-angle and polarization-insensitive
ultrabroadband metamaterial absorber in visible and near-infrared region. IEEE Photonics J. 2019, 11, 1–8. [CrossRef]
54. Bilal, R.M.H.; Baqir, M.A.; Hameed, M.; Naqvi, S.A.; Ali, M.M. Triangular metallic ring-shaped broadband polarization-insensitive
and wide-angle metamaterial absorber for visible regime. JOSA A 2022, 39, 136–142. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
55. Huo, D.; Zhang, J.; Wang, Y.; Wang, C.; Su, H.; Zhao, H. Broadband perfect absorber based on TiN-nanocone metasurface.
Nanomaterials 2018, 8, 485. [CrossRef]
56. Naik, G.V.; Kim, J.; Boltasseva, A. Oxides and nitrides as alternative plasmonic materials in the optical range. Opt. Mater. Express
2011, 1, 1090–1099. [CrossRef]
57. Bilal, R.M.H.; Baqir, M.A.; Choudhury, P.K.; Karaaslan, M.; Ali, M.M.; Altłntas, O.; Rahim, A.A.; Unal, E.; Sabah, C. Wideband
microwave absorber comprising metallic split-ring resonators surrounded with E-shaped fractal metamaterial. IEEE Access
2021, 9, 5670–5677. [CrossRef]
58. Kim, I.; So, S.; Rana, A.S.; Mehmood, M.Q.; Rho, J. Thermally robust ring-shaped chromium perfect absorber of visible light.
Nanophotonics 2018, 7, 1827–1833. [CrossRef]
59. Liu, J.; Zhu, M.; Zhang, N.; Zhang, H.; Zhou, Y.; Sun, S.; Yi, N.; Gao, S.; Song, Q.; Xiao, S. Wafer-scale metamaterials for
polarization-insensitive and dual-band perfect absorption. Nanoscale 2015, 7, 18914–18917. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 3356 13 of 13

60. Hu, C.; Li, X.; Feng, Q.; Chen, X.N.; Luo, X. Investigation on the role of the dielectric loss in metamaterial absorber. Opt. Express
2010, 18, 6598–6603. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
61. Chen, X.; Grzegorczyk, T.M.; Wu, B.-I.; Pacheco Jr, J.; Kong, J.A. Robust method to retrieve the constitutive effective parameters of
metamaterials. Phys. Rev. E 2004, 70, 016608. [CrossRef]
62. Smith, D.; Schultz, S.; Markoš, P.; Soukoulis, C. Determination of effective permittivity and permeability of metamaterials from
reflection and transmission coefficients. Phys. Rev. B 2002, 65, 195104. [CrossRef]
63. Naveed, M.A.; Kim, J.; Ansari, M.A.; Kim, I.; Massoud, Y.; Kim, J.; Oh, D.K.; Badloe, T.; Lee, J.; Kim, Y. Single-Step Fabricable
Flexible Metadisplays for Sensitive Chemical/Biomedical Packaging Security and Beyond. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14,
31194–31202. [CrossRef]
64. Bilal, R.; Baqir, M.; Choudhury, P.K.; Ali, M.M.; Rahim, A.A.; Kamal, W. Polarization-insensitive multi-band metamaterial
absorber operating in the 5G spectrum. Optik 2020, 216, 164958. [CrossRef]
65. Naveed, M.A.; Kim, J.; Javed, I.; Ansari, M.A.; Seong, J.; Massoud, Y.; Badloe, T.; Kim, I.; Riaz, K.; Zubair, M. Novel Spin-
Decoupling Strategy in Liquid Crystal-Integrated Metasurfaces for Interactive Metadisplays. Adv. Opt. Mater. 2022, 2200196.
[CrossRef]
66. Qian, Q.; Yan, Y.; Wang, C. Flexible metasurface black nickel with stepped nanopillars. Opt. Lett. 2018, 43, 1231–1234. [CrossRef]
[PubMed]
67. Liu, J.; Ma, W.-Z.; Chen, W.; Yu, G.-X.; Chen, Y.-S.; Deng, X.-C.; Yang, C.-F. Numerical analysis of an ultra-wideband metamaterial
absorber with high absorptivity from visible light to near-infrared. Opt. Express 2020, 28, 23748–23760. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
68. Liu, Z.; Liu, G.; Huang, Z.; Liu, X.; Fu, G. Ultra-broadband perfect solar absorber by an ultra-thin refractory titanium nitride
meta-surface. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2018, 179, 346–352. [CrossRef]
69. Hakim, M.L.; Hanif, A.; Alam, T.; Islam, M.T.; Arshad, H.; Soliman, M.S.; Albadran, S.M.; Islam, M. Ultrawideband Polarization-
Independent Nanoarchitectonics: A Perfect Metamaterial Absorber for Visible and Infrared Optical Window Applications.
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 2849. [CrossRef] [PubMed]