Enhanced Mid-Infrared Light Trapping in Vanadium Dioxide-Loaded One-Dimensional Zero-Contrast Gratings on Metal Substrate

Enhanced Mid-Infrared Light Trapping in Vanadium Dioxide-Loaded One-Dimensional Zero-Contrast Gratings on Metal Substrate | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhanced Mid-Infrared Light Trapping in Vanadium Dioxide-Loaded One-Dimensional Zero-Contrast Gratings on Metal Substrate Hongjing Li, Yingying Zhang, Gaige Zheng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7143548/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Optical and Quantum Electronics → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We theoretically investigate enhanced mid-infrared (mid-IR) absorption in a one-dimensional zero-contrast grating (ZCG) structure incorporating a thermally tunable vanadium dioxide (VO 2) layer atop a metallic substrate. At lower temperatures , VO 2 remains in its insulating phase with low optical loss, enabling it to function as a low-loss cavity spacer that supports Fabry-Perot (FP) resonances under transverse magnetic (TM) polarization. When combined with the guided mode resonance (GMR) effects induced by the ZCG, strong optical field confinement occurs within the VO 2 layer, leading to pronounced absorption peaks at mid-IR wavelengths (16-19 µm). We employ rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) to systematically analyze the optical responses, revealing that proper tuning of the grating period (p= 9-12 µm), fill factor (0.2-0.8), and VO 2 thickness (3-3.5 µm) results in narrowband absorptance exceeding 90% at resonance. The underlying molybdenum (Mo) layer acts as a back reflector to suppress transmission, further enhancing light trapping. The absorption characteristics can be significantly modulated by the thermally induced phase transition of VO 2 , offering dynamic control over resonant absorption. Additionally, the structure exhibits azimuthal angle-dependent behavior and supports enhanced absorption even under transverse electric (TE) polarization. The interplay between GMR 1 and FP cavity effects in the low-loss VO 2 phase offers a passive route to achieve spectrally selective and thermally switchable absorption. These findings have potential applications in tunable infrared sensors, thermal emitters, and actively controllable photonic devices. Enhanced absorption Guided mode resonance Zero-contrast grating Mid-infrared Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Optical and Quantum Electronics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 31 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 06 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 17 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7143548","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":496377238,"identity":"9e6adcc9-ee66-4f0f-8010-1892963d216b","order_by":0,"name":"Hongjing Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Xiaozhuang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hongjing","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":496377239,"identity":"dc0c5767-2380-452b-a0e1-bda10d601d5b","order_by":1,"name":"Yingying Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Xiaozhuang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yingying","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":496377242,"identity":"1151c9f3-b628-4f18-85d2-3c4c2a692a03","order_by":2,"name":"Gaige Zheng","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYInQAj5RgYeIjVwgbRYkxQCwxAtABBYgMhLcz9Zw9+Lqi4k8cv33zswYOauvQNx88efPCBwU5OtwGHw2bkJUvPOPOsWLKNLd0g4djh3A1n8pINZzAkG5sdwKWFx0Cat+1w4oZjPGYSiQ0HcjccyDGT5mE4kLgNl5b+M8a/kbTUpRucf0NASwPQTCQtzAkGNwjZMiPHzJrnzLPEmW1paRJAvxjOvPHG2HCGAW6/GAIddpun4k5iP/PhY5I/aurk+c7nGD74UGEnh1NLA5hCklUAsw2wKwcBeQZ0LfINuFWPglEwCkbByAQAyjVhbDZ7i+gAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Xiaozhuang University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gaige","middleName":"","lastName":"Zheng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-16 22:38:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7143548/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7143548/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-025-08542-0","type":"published","date":"2026-02-02T15:58:19+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102235151,"identity":"cea56acc-9159-405a-a8ba-d419d12d233e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 16:15:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2222871,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"submission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7143548/v1_covered_630906f1-7c2e-437e-83c2-a7f1f6c5260d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Enhanced Mid-Infrared Light Trapping in Vanadium Dioxide-Loaded One-Dimensional Zero-Contrast Gratings on Metal Substrate","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"optical-and-quantum-electronics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"oqel","sideBox":"Learn more about [Optical and Quantum Electronics](https://www.springer.com/journal/11082)","snPcode":"11082","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11082/3","title":"Optical and Quantum Electronics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Enhanced absorption, Guided mode resonance, Zero-contrast grating, Mid-infrared","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7143548/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7143548/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"We theoretically investigate enhanced mid-infrared (mid-IR) absorption in a one-dimensional zero-contrast grating (ZCG) structure incorporating a thermally tunable vanadium dioxide (VO 2) layer atop a metallic substrate. At lower temperatures , VO 2 remains in its insulating phase with low optical loss, enabling it to function as a low-loss cavity spacer that supports Fabry-Perot (FP) resonances under transverse magnetic (TM) polarization. When combined with the guided mode resonance (GMR) effects induced by the ZCG, strong optical field confinement occurs within the VO 2 layer, leading to pronounced absorption peaks at mid-IR wavelengths (16-19 µm). We employ rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) to systematically analyze the optical responses, revealing that proper tuning of the grating period (p= 9-12 µm), fill factor (0.2-0.8), and VO 2 thickness (3-3.5 µm) results in narrowband absorptance exceeding 90% at resonance. The underlying molybdenum (Mo) layer acts as a back reflector to suppress transmission, further enhancing light trapping. The absorption characteristics can be significantly modulated by the thermally induced phase transition of VO 2 , offering dynamic control over resonant absorption. Additionally, the structure exhibits azimuthal angle-dependent behavior and supports enhanced absorption even under transverse electric (TE) polarization. The interplay between GMR 1 and FP cavity effects in the low-loss VO 2 phase offers a passive route to achieve spectrally selective and thermally switchable absorption. 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