Reconfigurable Optical Heptamer Disk Absorber Based on an Optical Switch

Abstract

Recently, organic materials, such as proteins, have been considered as switchable materials for optical applications, such as optical gates. We exploited an organic material layer for new applications in optical absorbers. We also employed a heptamer disk array as our unit cell, with each disk comprising an organic material and a gold layer. We controlled the conductivity of the organic material by biasing the gold electrode. The absorber provided switchable absorption characteristics in the optical regime. In this letter, we considered “ON” and “OFF” modes for the organic layer. The organic disks have been selectively set to either the “ON” or the “OFF” mode. We demonstrated a reconfigurable absorber in the 170-200-THz range that is useful for optical sensing by fiber optics. Switching operations have affected the electric field distribution and surface plasmon distribution.