Nanostructured optical coatings with tailored spectral absorption properties are of interest for a wide range of applications such as spectroscopy, emissivity control, and solar energy harvesting. MRSEC researchers have designed and demonstrated a broadband, polarization-insensitive metamaterial with greater than 98% measured average absorptivity that is maintained over a wide ±45° field-of-view for mid-infrared wavelengths between 1.77 and 4.81 µm. This work represents a significant step toward realizing practical optical metamaterial absorbers that provide near-perfect broadband absorption over a specified super-octave bandwidth.
