On the Properties of Materials for Designing Filters at Optical Frequencies

Topsakal, E. ; Volakis, J.L.

Lockheed Martin

关键词: Efficiency;    Energy Consumption;    Dielectric Materials;    Spectra;    Wavelengths;   

DOI  :  10.2172/821377
RP-ID  :  LM-03K041
RP-ID  :  AC12-00SN39357
RP-ID  :  821377

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Frequency Selective Surfaces/Volumes (FSS/Vs), periodic structures with frequency selective properties, have widely been used for millimeter and microwave applications. Some applications include filters (band pass, band stop), reflectors, radoms etc. FSS/Vs typically consist of a single or multiple material layers. Multiple layers (with each layer having a different frequency selectivity) are used for broadband applications. In recent years there has been an interest in using these structures at optical wavelengths. One of the applications is in thermophotovoltaic filters used to convert thermal energy into electricity. The filter is designed to transmit those wavelengths that can be efficiently converted into electricity, and to reflect other spectra, which leads to energy conservation and an increase in overall system efficiency. These filters can be used in space missions to help decrease energy consumption and reduce spacecraft mass, cost, and fuel loading. Numerical simulations of such filters are very limited in the literature. Existing modeling approaches are based on the assumption of purely metallic (perfectly conducting) structures on substrates. however, in practice, metals have finite conductivity that can lead to power absorption in the metal. At optical frequencies the usual material properties and perfect electric conductor (PEC) assumption is not applicable. Moreover, the conventional methods, such as using resistive sheets or lossy dielectrics to simulate metallic losses, are not accurate. The goal is to provide a new approach for modeling metallic losses more accurately at the optical frequencies.