Terahertz absorption properties of different graphene layers based on the Salisbury effect

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) absorbers based on the Salisbury screen have attracted significant attention for high absorption performance and simple structure. Graphene is suitable for high-performance THz absorbers due to its extraordinary electronic and optical properties. The study of graphene THz absorbers based on Salisbury screens has attracted great interest, where the number of graphene layers significantly affects the interface impedance matching and absorption efficiency. In this work, we proposed a sandwich-structured graphene/Polyimide (PI) /Au THz absorber based on the Salisbury screen. The results show that the absorption peak tended to increase and then decrease with the increase in the number of graphene layers. The simulation demonstrates that the real and imaginary parts of the relative impedance of the 3-5 layer graphene absorber were 1.02 and 0.01, which achieved a better impedance matching with the free space. Meanwhile, the measured sheet resistance value of 426 Ω/sq was closest to the free-space impedance value of 377 Ω, consistent with the simulation results. The corresponding absorption reached a maximum value of 98.7% at 0.82 THz (measured). In addition, the absorption peak decreased from 98.7% to 86.7% as the angle of incidence increased from 0° to 60°. This demonstrates the advantage of wide-angle absorption. The proposed device is suitable for applications in electromagnetic shielding and imaging, while the suggested method can be employed for the fabrication of other graphene-based devices.