Broadband light absorption by tapered metal-dielectric multilayered grating structures

We present the design and numerical simulations of a polarization-insensitive broadband infrared absorber with a tapered metal-dielectric multilayered grating structure. The absorber exhibits perfect absorption simultaneously at multiple frequencies close to one another, leading to a broadband absorption. Polarization-insensitive absorption of above 90% is observed at wavelengths of 2749-4966 nm, and the broadband absorption remains high for a wide range of incident angles. The electromagnetic field distributions at several selected wavelengths for both TE and TM polarizations are investigated to disclose the broadband absorption mechanism. It is anticipated that the designed broadband absorber can be applied in the field of thermal emitter, IR cloaking and solar power harvesting.