Magneto-optical metasurfaces for high-Q perfect absorption with quasi-bound states in the continuum

Abstract

We present a novel, to the best of our knowledge, magneto-optical (MO) metasurface composed of a bismuth iron garnet (BIG) nanocube array, designed to achieve near-perfect absorption through quasi-bound states in the continuum (QBICs). This metasurface supports a stable QBIC mode induced by MO-induced permittivity terms that break the symmetry of the permittivity tensors, corresponding to a longitudinal electric dipole (ED) mode. By integrating graphene to introduce material loss, the absorption reaches 99.6% at a wavelength of 1512.3 nm with a Q factor of 9440, despite monolayer graphene’s inherent absorption being only 2.3%. The inherent transverse ED background mode, with high reflection and low Q, helps decrease the radiative loss of the QBIC mode, allowing the structure to surpass the 50% absorption limit. This approach offers a simplified pathway for designing high-Q metasurface perfect absorbers, with potential applications in optical switches and modulators.