Plasmonic black metals via radiation absorption by two-dimensional arrays of ultra-sharp convex grooves

Plasmonic black surfaces formed by two-dimensional arrays of ultra-sharp convex metal grooves, in which the incident radiation is converted into gap surface plasmon polaritons (GSPPs) and subsequently absorbed (via adiabatic nanofocusing), are fabricated and investigated experimentally for gold, nickel, and palladium, using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and reflection spectroscopy for their characterization. Absolute reflectivity spectra obtained for all fabricated arrays demonstrate very efficient and broadband absorption of unpolarized light exceeding the level of 95%, averaged over the investigated wavelength range of 400–985 nm. The highest averaged absorption level (~97%) is achieved with 250-nm-period arrays in palladium that also has the highest melting temperature (~1552°C), promising thereby potential applications for broadband absorption, e.g., within thermophotovoltaics. For one-dimensional arrays, GSPPs are excited only with the electric field polarized perpendicular to the groove orientation, resulting in 94–96% absorption of the appropriately polarized light for the arrays in nickel and palladium while featuring practically flat surface reflectivity spectra for the orthogonal polarization. The largest ratio (~10.7) between averaged reflectivities for orthogonal polarizations is achieved with the groove arrays in palladium, pointing thereby towards applications as broadband and low-dispersion linear polarizers operating in reflection, e.g., within ultra-fast optics.