Design and Optimization of a Metamaterial Absorber for Efficient Solar Energy Conversion

This paper explores how to design a unique meta-material absorber that enhances solar energy trapping and absorption efficiency. Analysis is performed within the visible frequency spectrum of 520 THz to 770 THz. The chosen top and bottom layer of the absorber is Nickel (Ni) while the middle layer is chosen to be of SiO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>. After finalizing the structure the density of the layers are varied and the absorption efficiency is observed. The simulated configuration has an absorption efficiency over 97 percent with an absorption bandwidth of 143.80 THz. Between 570 THz and 590 THz, it has an absorption efficiency of around 99 percent. The sensitivity of the structure to incident and polarization angles were investigated. The research uniquely focuses on increasing absorption efficiency while being insensitive to incident and polarization angles, making it suitable for enhanced light trapping in solar energy devices.