Tunable absorbers based on Phase Change Materials
Phase change materials, Reconfigurability, Plasmonic Absorbers, Finite
Element Method.
The Chalcogenide phase change materials are potentially advantageous elements and
are known for their high data retention capacity. When integrated into electromagnetic
absorber structures, they are able to control the effects of absorption over a wide range
of wavelengths due to the optical contrast caused by the modulation of their refractive
index. In this dissertation, plasmonic absorber structures were analyzed, using a layer of
chalcogenide phase change material (GeTe) in the infrared spectrum range (1000-2200
nm). Through the Lorentz-Lorenz relation it was possible to control the resonance and
geometry peaks through functions in the two studied cases. The physical mechanisms of
absorbers interacting with incident light and the phenomena caused were also analyzed.
The absorbers were analyzed in normal and oblique incidence in Transverse Electric
(TE) and Transverse Magnetic (TM) polarization modes and the results achieved were
higher than 93%. These structures are potential applications for several technologies
employed in reconfigurable nanophotonic devices.