Multiband-switchability and high-absorptivity of a metamaterial perfect absorber based on a plasmonic resonant structure in the near-infrared region

Metamaterials are widely studied in bio-photonics because of their flexible and tunable resonance wavelengths in the near-infrared region and their particular relevance to biological tissues. In this paper, we propose for the first time a perfect absorber that is switchable between triple-band and dual-band absorption. The narrowband metamaterial perfect absorber has a conventional metal–dielectric–metal structure, which consists of an array of silver disks, a silica dielectric layer and a gold substrate. Its working performance is mainly determined by the height, radius and period of the top silver disks. By adjusting these parameters, the perfect absorber can be switched between triple-band and dual-band absorption with the peaks showing close to 100% absorbance. This makes it possible to use it as a multifunctional absorber in various applications, such as filters and sensors.