Plasma and metasurface composite absorber based on topology optimization

Abstract This work uses topology optimization methods to interactively design the plasma and metasurface loaded by resistance film, and obtains a composite absorber with good absorption effect. Genetic algorithm is used to find the minimum reflectivity of the composite absorber of plasma and metasurfaces, and after decoding, determine the corresponding topological structure of metasurface units and the optimal values of other parameters of the composite absorber. The optimized composite absorber maintains an absorption rate of over 95% in a wide frequency range of 5 GHz–18 GHz. This broadband absorption effect is caused by the superposition of the absorption performance of plasma and metasurface. In addition, due to the central symmetric configuration of the metasurface unit, the composite absorber has good polarization insensitivity characteristics, and it still has broadband absorbing ability in the case of TE polarized waves and TM polarized waves obliquely incident. Thus, the proposed composite absorber designed based on topology optimization method has a wide frequency band, wide incidence angle, high absorption rate, and polarization insensitive absorbing effect. The topology optimization method is used for the design of the proposed composite absorber composed of plasma and metasurface, which does not overly rely on design experience of designer and provides an intelligent design method for stealth skin design in complex scattering media such as plasma.