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In recent years, sub-wavelength metamaterials-based light perfect absorbers have been the subject of many studies. The most frequently utilized absorber configuration is based on nanostructured plasmonic metals. However, two main drawbacks were raised for this design architecture. One is the fabrication complexity and large scale incompatibility of these nano units. The other one is the inherent limitation of these common metals which mostly operate in the visible frequency range. Recently, strong interference effects in lithography-free planar multilayer designs have been proposed as a solution for tackling these drawbacks. In this paper, we reveal the extraordinary potential of bismuth (Bi) metal in achieving light perfect absorption in a planar design through a broad wavelength regime. For this aim, we adopted a modeling approach based on the transfer matrix method (TMM) to find the ideal conditions for light perfect absorption. According to the findings of our modeling and numerical simulations, it was demonstrated that the use of Bi in the metal-insulator-metal-insulator (MIMI) configuration can simultaneously provide two distinct functionalities; a narrow near unity reflection response and an ultra-broadband near perfect absorption. The reflection behavior can be employed to realize additive color filters in the visible range, while the ultra-broadband absorption response of the design can fully harvest solar irradiation in the visible and near infrared (NIR) ranges. The findings of this paper demonstrate the extraordinary potential of Bi metal for the design of deep sub-wavelength optical devices.

Colorimetric detection of target molecules with insensitivity to incident-light polarization has attracted considerable attention in recent years. This resulted from the ability to provide rapid output and reduced assay times as a result of color changes upon altering the environment that are easily distinguishable by the naked eye. In this paper, we propose a highly sensitive refractive-index sensor, utilizing the excitation of guided modes of a novel two-dimensional periodically modulated dielectric grating-waveguide structure. The optimized nanosensor can numerically excite guided-mode resonances with an ultranarrow linewidth (full width at half-maximum) of 0.58 nm. Sensitivity is numerically investigated by considering the deposition of dielectric layers on the structure. For a layer thickness of 30 nm, the maximum sensitivity reached as high as 110 nm/refractive index unit (RIU), resulting in a very high figure of merit of 190. The fabricated devices with 30 nm aluminum oxide and zinc oxide coatings achieved a maximum sensitivity of 235.2 nm/RIU with a linewidth of 19 nm. Colorimetric detection with polarization insensitivity is confirmed practically by a simple optical microscope. Samples with different coatings have been observed to have clearly distinct colors, while the color of each sample is nearly identical upon azimuthal rotation. Excellent agreement is obtained between the numerical and experimental results regarding the spectral position of the resonances and sensitivity. The proposed device is, therefore, highly promising in efficient, highly sensitive, almost lossless, and compact molecular diagnostics in the field of biomedicine with personalized, label-free, early point-of-care diagnosis and field analysis, drug detection, and environmental monitoring.

The tunable plasmon induced reflectance (PIR) effect has been numerically investigated and experimentally realized by hybrid metal-graphene metamaterials. The PIR effect is produced by two parallel strips of gold (Au) and controlled electrically by applying the gate voltage to the graphene layer. The PIR response is generated by the weak hybridization of two bright modes of the gold strips and tuned by changing the Fermi level (Ef) of the graphene. The total shift of 211.7 nm was achieved in the reflection peak by applying only 3 V. This concept of real time electrical tuning of PIR, with a modulation depth of ∼49% and a spectral contrast ratio of 66.6%, can be used for designing optical switches, optical modulators, and tunable sensors.The tunable plasmon induced reflectance (PIR) effect has been numerically investigated and experimentally realized by hybrid metal-graphene metamaterials. The PIR effect is produced by two parallel strips of gold (Au) and controlled electrically by applying the gate voltage to the graphene layer. The PIR response is generated by the weak hybridization of two bright modes of the gold strips and tuned by changing the Fermi level (Ef) of the graphene. The total shift of 211.7 nm was achieved in the reflection peak by applying only 3 V. This concept of real time electrical tuning of PIR, with a modulation depth of ∼49% and a spectral contrast ratio of 66.6%, can be used for designing optical switches, optical modulators, and tunable sensors.