Tunable Broadband Solar Energy Absorber Based on Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Materials Using Au Nanocubes

Abstract

In order to significantly enhance the absorption capability of solar energy absorbers in the visible wavelength region, a novel monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS ₂)-based nanostructure was proposed. Local surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) supported by Au nanocubes (NCs) can improve the absorption of monolayer MoS ₂. A theoretical simulation by a finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) shows that the absorptions of proposed MoS ₂-based absorbers are above 94.0% and 99.7% at the resonant wavelengths of 422 and 545 nm, respectively. In addition, the optical properties of the proposed nanostructure can be tuned by the geometric parameters of the periodic Au nanocubes array, distributed Bragg mirror (DBR) and polarization angle of the incident light, which are of great pragmatic significance for improving the absorption efficiency and selectivity of monolayer MoS ₂. The absorber is also able to withstand a wide range of incident angles, showing polarization-independence. Similar design ideas can also be implemented to other transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) to strengthen the interaction between light and MoS ₂. This nanostructure is relatively simple to implement and has a potentially important application value in the development of high-efficiency solar energy absorbers and other optoelectronic devices.