Inverse Design of Ultrathin Metamaterial Absorber
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Electromagnetic absorbers combining ultrathin profiles with robust absorptivity across wide incidence angles are essential for applications such as stealth applications, wireless communications, and quantum computing. Traditional designs, including Salisbury screens, typically require thicknesses of at least a quarter-wavelength (λ/4), restricting their use in compact systems. While metamaterial absorbers (MMAs) offer reduced thicknesses, their absorptivity generally decreases under oblique incidence conditions. Here, we introduce an adjoint optimization-based inverse design method that merges the ultrathin advantage of MMAs with the angle-insensitive characteristics of Salisbury screens. By leveraging the computational efficiency of the adjoint method, we systematically optimize absorber structures as thin as λ/20. The optimized structures achieve absorption exceeding 90% at the target frequency (7.5 GHz) and demonstrate robust performance under oblique incidence, maintaining over 90% absorption up to 50°, approximately 80% at 60°, and around 70% at 70°. Comparative analysis against particle swarm optimization further highlights the superior efficiency of the adjoint method, reducing the computational effort by approximately 98%. This inverse design framework thus provides substantial improvements in both the performance and computational cost, offering a promising solution for advanced electromagnetic absorber design.
Source: Nanomaterials
DOI: 10.3390/nano15131024
Authors: Eunbi Jang, Junghee Cho, Chanik Kang, Haejun Chung
Institution: Hanyang University
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
Awards: G1550109116, G1568782626, G172776964, G1758738191, G1767291611, G177598525, G1862415803, G192055887, G2124488252, G2199931666, G234115984, G2365584765, G2415681332, G2424221239, G2581689735, G2805063684, G2826972852, G2875938213, G2966287410, G2997276511, G3002553147, G3004871520, G333166131, G3400380224, G366730968, G3904058931, G4193688386, G4352347138, G4552946158, G4848589832, G5177438115, G5396576536, G5778888191, G5876525688, G6068964268, G6107023710, G6191101936, G6344712958, G6451927723, G6871447769, G7701645269, G7900238591, G7967031600, G7997132224, G813364054, G8363210920
OpenAlex ID: W4411951404