Ultra-broadband and wide-angle solar absorber for the All-MXene grating metamaterial

Excellent broadband absorption features have broad applications such as photoelectric conversion, optical communication, and photovoltaic cells. In the work, the absorption for a simple and easily fabricated all-MXene grating metamaterial absorber is investigated by using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the maximum absorption of the all-MXene grating absorber is higher than 98.5%, and the average absorption up to 90% in the range of 400 nm-2500 nm. The mechanism of broadband absorption is analyzed through using the electric field, magnetic field, and impedance theories. Furthermore, the absorption spectra of the all-MXene grating metamaterial absorber in different polarization states and incidence angles are investigated, and the results show that the wide-angle absorption from 0 to 70(degrees) can be realized by the proposed allMXene grating metamaterial absorber, and the absorption was also independent on the polarization of the light. Lastly, we can apply the advantages of the all-MXene grating metamaterial to solar metamaterial absorbers, which have almost the same absorption spectra as the AM1.5 solar spectra, indicating the all-MXene grating metamaterial absorber have high absorption efficiency and low energy loss. These findings suggest potential applications of the all-MXene grating metamaterial absorber in many fields, including solar batteries, photovoltaics, and solar thermal conversion.