Narrow band absorber based on a dielectric nanodisk array on silver film

The simulations of normally incident visible light absorption in a periodic array of dielectric nanodisks on the top of a silver film are presented. Electromagnetic simulations indicate narrow resonances with absorption intensities as large as 95%. The absorption enhancement due to the periodic array can be as high as a factor of 30 compared to an equivalent dielectric film on top of a silver mirror. A parametric study shows that the resonance characteristics and the number of modes can be easily tuned and controlled by the refractive index and the geometric parameters of the nanodisks. In particular, the structure can be tuned to have either a single or two absorption peaks. The characteristics of the two main resonance peaks are described in detail using the simulated electric field profiles and the dispersion relation. Proposed narrowband absorber design utilizing continuous metal films and nanostructured dielectric arrays could be used for narrow-band absorption filters, refractive-index based biosensing applications and thermal emitters.