Parametric Optimization and Numerical Analysis of GaAs Inspired Highly Efficient I-Shaped Metamaterial Solar Absorber Design for Visible and Infrared Regions

Abstract

Renewable energy demand is increasing as fossil fuels are limited and pollute the environment. The solar absorber is an efficient renewable energy source that converts solar radiation into heat energy. We have proposed a gallium arsenide-backed solar absorber design made with a metamaterial resonator and SiO2 substrate. The metamaterial resonator is investigated with thin wire metamaterial and I-shaped metamaterial designs. The I-shape metamaterial design outperforms the thin wire metamaterial design and gives 96% average absorption with a peak absorption of 99.95%. Structure optimization is applied in this research paper using parametric optimization. Nonlinear parametric optimization is used because of the nonlinear system results. The optimization method is used to optimize the design and improve the efficiency of the solar absorber. The gallium arsenide and silicon dioxide thicknesses are modified to see how they affect the absorption response of the solar absorber design. The optimized parameter values for SiO2 and GaAs thicknesses are 2500 nm and 1000 nm, respectively. The effect of the change in angles is also investigated in this research. The absorption is high for such a wide angle of incidence. The angle of 30° only shows a lower absorption of about 30–50%. The effect of the change in angles is also investigated in this research. The design results are verified by presenting the E-field results for different wavelengths. The optimized solar absorber design applies to renewable energy applications.