POLARIZATION ANGLE INDEPENDENT PERFECT METAMATERIAL ABSORBERS FOR SOLAR CELL APPLICATIONS IN THE MICROWAVE, INFRARED, AND VISIBLE REGIME

We design, characterize, and analyze a new kind of metamaterial (MTM) absorber (MA) in different frequency regions for the solar cell applications. This MTM based structure is particularly presented in a range of the solar spectrum in order to utilize the solar energy effectively. The proposed MTM based solar cell provides perfect absorption for both infrared and visible frequency ranges and can be used for the realization of more efficient new solar cells. The structure is also tested in terms of the polarization angle independency. The suggested MA has a simple configuration which introduces flexibility to adjust its MTM properties to be used in solar cells and can easily be re-scaled for other frequency ranges. Our experimental results in microwave frequencies confirm the perfect absorption for the resonance frequency and agree with the simulation results. This means that the developed MA for solar cells will offer perfect absorption in infrared and even in visible frequencies.