Ultrasensitive tunable terahertz sensor based on five-band perfect absorber with Dirac semimetal

For non-invasive detection, terahertz. (THz) sensing shows more promising performance compared to visible and infrared regions. But so far, figure of merit (FOM) of THz sensor has been exceeding low due to weak radiation and absorption loss. Here, we propose an easily implemented THz sensor based on bulk Dirac semimetal (BDS). The presented structure not only achieves narrowband absorption and dynamic tunability at five perfect absorption bands, but also exhibits excellent sensing performance with a FOM of 813. These fascinating properties can be explained by the combination of the classical magnetic resonance induced by the anti-parallel current, the electric resonance of adjacent unit cells resulting from the air slots at both ends of the absorber, and Mie resonance supported by coating, respectively. Our work can provide a new avenue for the design of multi-band photodetectors and sensors in the future. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement