Applied Physics A最新文献

{"title":"Sb2S3 thin film based FTO/TiO2/CdS/Sb2S3/Al heterostructure diodes for P-type absorber layer","authors":"Sripan Chinnaiyah,&nbsp;R. Ramesh Babu,&nbsp;A. Rajesh,&nbsp;P. Suresh,&nbsp;R. Naik","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10077-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10077-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In contemporary technological contexts, binary Sb₂S₃ chalcogenide thin films assume a pivotal role. Sb₂S₃ nanocrystals were successfully synthesised from ethylene glycol as a solvent via a solution-based technique. The subsequent thin-film coating was achieved using the pure-phase material via thermal evaporation. A comprehensive analysis utilising XRD, FESEM, EDAX, Hall measurements, and UV–Vis spectroscopy provided insights into the characteristics of the prepared Sb₂S₃ thin films. After post-annealing at 250 °C, XRD data indicate the formation of polycrystalline Sb₂S₃ with an orthorhombic structure. UV–Visible spectroscopy investigations revealed a calculated direct band gap of approximately 1.7 eV, in close agreement with the ideal band gap for optimal solar cell efficiency in Sb₂S₃. Notably, the annealed thin films of Sb₂S₃ exhibit promise as a superior P-type absorber layer for low-price solar cells. This study elucidates the impact of annealing on phase transformations and underscores the efficacy of Sb₂S₃ solar cells for light capture.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced NO₂ gas sensing performance of hydrothermally synthesized ZnO: CeO2 heterostructure nanocomposites: role of CeO2 loading and oxygen vacancies","authors":"Ayaat K. Ftekan,&nbsp;Mohammed Moslih Mahdi,&nbsp;Ali Kareem Alywee,&nbsp;Saad Maadh Alhiti,&nbsp;Ramadan KH. Ramadan,&nbsp;Moaaed Motlak","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10175-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10175-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Highly sensitive and reliable gas sensors are needed for environmental monitoring of highly hazardous air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). In this work, ZnO: CeO₂ nanocomposite films prepared by hydrothermal method with different contents of CeO₂ (5, 7 wt%) were synthesized on FTO substrates by thermal annealing. The XRD, SEM, EDX, elemental mapping, and UV–Vis spectroscopy methods were used to investigate the structural, morphological, compositional, and optical properties. XRD confirmed the presence of both hexagonal ZnO and cubic CeO₂ phases, implying that a heterojunction was formed. The interconnected nanosheet-like structures at the nanometer scale were observed by SEM, while the elemental mapping results indicate that the distributions of Zn, O, and Ce were uniform. The optical measurement results indicated that the band gap was decreased from 3.15 eV (pure ZnO) to 2.73 eV (CeO₂-incorporated). Tests for NO₂ were done at 60–120 ppm and 75–225 °C with gas-sensing tests. Among the sensors, the sensor with ZnO: CeO₂ (5 wt%) exhibited the maximum response (69.2%) to 120 ppm NO₂ at 150 °C with quicker response and recovery times. The enhanced sensitivity is caused by the formation of ZnO/CeO₂ heterojunctions, the efficient charge transfer and more oxygen vacancies induced by CeO₂. Increased CeO₂ (7 wt%) led to reduced sensitivity, which appeared to be caused by partially covered ZnO surface sites and higher charge-transport resistance. Therefore, optimizing of CeO₂ content becomes very crucial to obtain highest performance NO₂ sensors.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative study of AC & DC poling techniques on pieozoelectric ceramics; the case of Sm:PMN-PT","authors":"Marjaneh Jafari Fesharaki,&nbsp;Navid Ghorbani Kalkhajeh,&nbsp;Hossein Ahmadvand,&nbsp;Mohsen Yazdanmehr","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10124-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10124-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The piezoelectric properties of Sm-doped 0.71PMN–0.29PT (Sm:PMN–PT) polycrystalline ceramics were systematically investigated under DC and AC poling conditions. For DC poling, the influences of poling time, applied electric field, and sample thickness were examined. In AC poling, additional parameters, including poling frequency, number of cycles, and waveform, were evaluated. Both poling methods were conducted within an electric-field range of 0.5 - 7 <span>(E_C)</span> (<span>(E_C = 3)</span> kV/cm). Under DC poling, optimal values of <span>(d_{33} = 1100 pm 20)</span> pC/N and <span>(k_{textrm{eff}} = 55 pm 2%)</span> were achieved at a poling field of 4 <span>(E_C)</span>, for 5 min. In contrast, AC poling produced optimal values of <span>(d_{33} = 1090 pm 20)</span> pC/N and <span>(k_{textrm{eff}} = 52 pm 2%)</span> at a lower field of 3 E<span>(_C)</span>, using a bipolar triangular waveform at 3 Hz for 15 cycles. Although both poling methods yielded comparable piezoelectric performance, AC poling achieved optimal properties more rapidly (shorter poling duration) and at a reduced electric field. Moreover, dielectric constant measurements at 10 kHz revealed an increase from <span>(varepsilon ' = 27,947)</span> (unpoled) to <span>(32,602)</span> (DC-poled) and <span>(37,782)</span> (AC-poled), with AC poling providing the highest enhancement. Compared to the DC-poled sample, AC-poled ceramics exhibited a 16% increase in dielectric constant, indicating superior domain alignment under the applied electric field and demonstrating the effectiveness of AC poling for enhancing dielectric performance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fabrication of SRCBD-synthesized mixed-phase SnO2 nano-films for operating temperature-dependent dual-functional cost-effective gas sensor for low ppm H2S and NO2 detection","authors":"Bellary Chitriki Anand,&nbsp;Rangaiah Shashidhar,&nbsp;Rakesh Vishwarup,&nbsp;Meti Bharathi,&nbsp;Shivarudrappa H. Pattanashetty,&nbsp;Gedare Shivanna Prakasha,&nbsp;Ramanahalli Shivagangaradhya Madhukeswara,&nbsp;Mudalabeedu Jayaram Bharath","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10157-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10157-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the temperature-dependent dual gas sensing behavior of tin oxide (SnO₂) films toward NO₂ and H₂S using the Substrate Rotation Chemical Bath Deposition (SRCBD) method. Vacuum annealing of as-deposited (60 °C) SnO₂ films at 300°–500 °C for 1 h produced thicknesses from 156 –71 nm. XRD showed that the obtained films were of mixed-phase SnO₂ and the preferred combination of tetragonal &amp; orthorhombic orientation changed with thickness. SEM revealed a transition from isolated grains to a granular network, while EDS and Raman confirmed a high surface oxygen content. The developed mixed-phase SnO₂ film-based MOS sensor was tested for detecting low concentrations (0.5–5 ppm) of H₂, CO₂, NH₃, NO₂ and H₂S test gases at operating temperatures of 50°–350 °C. The 156 nm thick SnO₂ film sensor showed strong responses at 200° and 100 °C, with sensitivities of 6.68% and 1.16% to NO₂ and 26.72% and 4.04% to H₂S gas at a 5ppm concentration, with response times of 37 s and 34.5 s. The fabricated Ag-SnO₂-Al configuration gas sensor could detect harmful gases down to 5 ppm. Operating temperature-dependent dual gas sensitivity may be due to the vacuum annealing changes in oxygen vacancies and grain morphology. Overall, the MOS gas sensor demonstrated better selectivity, fast response, good sensitivity, stable performance (4 S), and excellent repeatability, making it suitable for environmental, industrial, and healthcare applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3,5-diaminobenzoic acid: a simple method to improve the solubility and lithography accuracy of photosensitive polyimides","authors":"Guanlin Liu,&nbsp;Lei Zhou,&nbsp;Yongshuang Xiao,&nbsp;Yan Cao,&nbsp;Jiaxiang Wang,&nbsp;Yidong Liu,&nbsp;Jiyu Lei,&nbsp;Hainan Shi,&nbsp;Jintao Huang,&nbsp;Yonggang Min","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-09736-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-09736-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Traditional polyimides (PI) have poor solubility in common organic solvents due to the high rigidity of the main chain and strong intermolecular forces. Consequently, the traditional negative photosensitive polyimides (PSPIs) processing needs to use a large amount of DMF, NMP and other toxic organic solvents to dissolve the poly(amic acid) (PAA), which causes the problems of volatile organic compounds emission, difficult recovery and high cost. With increasing environmental concerns, it is essential to fundamentally address the solubility limitations of PIs to reduce their dependence on hazardous solvents and improve environmental compatibility. 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid (DABA) was used to improve the solubility of PI. The carboxyl groups in DABA molecules were introduced as pendant groups along the PI main chains, which greatly increased the polarity of the polymer and provided more reactive sites for the photosensitive compound, thus significantly improving the solubility of PAA in a milder and more environmentally friendly solvent system. In this study, a series of photosensitive poly(amic acid) (PSPAA) samples with varying DABA contents were synthesized. The structure, mechanical properties, thermal properties, and morphology of PI were investigated by FTIR, DMA, TGA, and SEM, respectively, through which the optimal DABA ratio was obtained.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrical and interfacial characteristics of Ag/p-SnSexTe1-x Schottky diodes on rigid and flexible transparent conductive substrates","authors":"Naresh Padha,&nbsp;Anjali Devi,&nbsp;Zahoor Ahmed,&nbsp;Arun Banotra,&nbsp;Meena Gupta,&nbsp;Sanjay Mahajan","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10092-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10092-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Ag/p-SnSe_xTe_1-x nanostructured thin-film Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were fabricated on rigid FTO-coated glass and flexible ITO-coated polymer substrates to investigate substrate-dependent current transport characteristics and the effects of diode area and substrate temperature. Compared with the Ag/p-SnSe_xTe_1-x/ITO-coated polymer devices, the Ag/p-SnSe_xTe_1-x/FTO SBDs exhibited lower ideality factors (<i>η</i>), higher zero-bias barrier heights (<i>ϕ</i>_<i>bo</i>), higher rectification ratios (<i>RR</i>), and lower series resistances (<i>Rs</i>). These improvements are attributed to the superior structural quality of the SnSe_xTe_1-x films deposited on FTO substrates, which promotes the formation of a higher-quality metal-semiconductor interface with reduced interfacial defects and enhanced charge transport. The forward <i>I-V</i> characteristics exhibited a double-threshold behaviour, consistent with current transport through localised low-barrier-height patches at low forward bias and thermionic emission across the average barrier at higher bias. Increasing the diode area resulted in higher <i>η</i> values and lower <i>ϕ</i>_<i>bo</i> and <i>Rs</i> values, consistent with an increased contribution from barrier-height inhomogeneities and localized interfacial defects. Furthermore, <i>η</i> decreased, whereas <i>ϕ</i>_<i>bo</i> increased with increasing substrate temperature, correlating with the reduction in Te content and the accompanying structural evolution and strain variations in the hexagonal Te and orthorhombic SnSe phases. Pronounced hysteresis in the double-sweep <i>I-V</i> characteristics was consistent with charge-carrier trapping and delayed detrapping at deep-level defect states. <i>C-V</i> measurements showed a decrease in capacitance with increasing frequency, consistent with the reduced response of interface states and trapped charges at higher <i>AC</i> frequencies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A zucchini biochar based composite phase change energy storage material for thermal management","authors":"Liwen Chen,&nbsp;Yuanlin Li,&nbsp;Hua Fei,&nbsp;Mengqian Guo,&nbsp;Xi Dai,&nbsp;Lei Wang","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10135-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10135-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this work, zucchini biochar (ZHB750, ZHB850 and ZHB950) were prepared by freeze-drying and carbonization at different pyrolysis temperatures using widely sourced zucchini (ZH) as raw material. The specific surface area of ZHB950 is 91.466 m²/g, which is 1777% and 324% higher than that of ZHB750 and ZHB850. The maximum pore volume of ZHB950 is 0.07284 cm³/g, which is 314% and 206% higher than that of ZHB750 and ZHB850. Myristic acid (MA) and tetradecanol (TD) were utilized as phase change materials, and two types of CPCMs, MA/ZHB950 and TD/ZHB950, were prepared by vacuum adsorption method with phase change temperatures of 51.95 and 36.25 ℃, respectively. The latent heat of phase transition is 92.85 and 166.81 J/g, respectively. Following 500 thermal cycles, the enthalpy of TD/ZHB950 is 151.72 J/g, with the maximum enthalpy change rate of 16.8%. The addition of ZHB950 increases the thermal conductivity of TD/ZHB950 to 0.483 W/(m·K). TD/ZHB950 exhibits better thermal stability and thermal storage performance than MA/ZHB950. However, the MA/ZHB950 composite shows a significant enthalpy reduction compared to the theoretical value due to the nanoconfinement effect, indicating that further optimization is needed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of local minimum on atomic transport properties of liquid Sn","authors":"Sree Madhusudan Karmakar,&nbsp;Md. Tareq Mahmud,&nbsp;R.C. Gosh","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10140-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10140-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Variation of core radius <span>(varvec{(R}_{varvec{c}}varvec{)})</span> and local field correction function (LFCF) in empty core (EMC) model potential is responsible for producing local minimum in the potential profile. The effect of local minimum on the temperature dependent atomic transport coefficients of liquid Sn has been studied using Universal Scaling Laws (USLs) and Hard Sphere (HS) theories. Effective HS diameter and excess entropy are the key ingredients of the applied theories. These ingredients have been determined using EMC model with variational modified hypernetted-chain (VMHNC) integral equation theory. Five distinct LFCFs proposed by Ichimaru-Utsumi (IU), Vashishta-Singwi (VS), Taylor (T), Sarkar (S) and Farid (F) with different <span>(varvec{R}_{varvec{c}})</span> values have been used to change the appeared local minimum. Calculated transport coefficients exhibit expected trend with increasing temperatures. Comparing with available experimental data, calculated results suggest that USLs of Dzugotov and Li work fairly well whereas those of Rosenfeld work excellent when S-LFCF is applied with <span>(varvec{R}_{varvec{c}})</span>=1.22 a.u. Faber’s formula based on HS interaction is found reliable for high temperature melts whereas Vadovic’s formula is found good at near melting points. This study also claims that USLs perform better than HS theories.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148837970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cinnamon-assisted synthesis of defective ZnO nanoparticles for enhanced antibacterial and photocatalytic applications","authors":"Ichraf Chérif,&nbsp;Rached Ousji,&nbsp;Maha Dendeni,&nbsp;Asma Mejri,&nbsp;Abdessalem Hamrouni,&nbsp;Lazhar Linoubli,&nbsp;Patricia de la Presa,&nbsp;Mounir Ferhi,&nbsp;Yanan Gao","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10162-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10162-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study reports a plant-mediated synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (G-ZnO-NPs) using cinnamon bark extract during the zinc oxalate precipitation step. The extract acts as both an aqueous precipitation medium and a capping agent with cinnamaldehyde identified as the predominant phytochemical and coumarin as a comparatively minor constituent. These phytochemicals modulate particle growth and defect formation, thereby tailoring the physicochemical properties of the resulting nanoparticles. The properties of G-ZnO-NPs were systematically compared with those of commercial ZnO (C-ZnO) and ZnO nanoparticles synthesized <i>via</i> zinc oxalate precipitation in water (W-ZnO-NPs). Relative to both reference materials, G-ZnO-NPs exhibit reduced particle agglomeration, a remarkable particle size reduction (15.9 nm), an increased specific surface area, a lower band gap energy, and more efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs partly attributable to defect-mediated charge trapping, thereby resulting in a higher photocurrent density and a lower charge-transfer resistance. Collectively, these features contribute to enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial performance. Under xenon-lamp irradiation, G-ZnO-NPs achieve 98.7% degradation of methyl orange (MO) within 150 min, compared with 83.6% and 88.9% for W-ZnO-NPs and C-ZnO, respectively, with corresponding first-order kinetic constants of 0.0289, 0.0118 and 0.0146 min^-1. Moreover, G-ZnO-NPs exhibit good structural stability and satisfactory recyclability after five consecutive photodegradation cycles, with hydroxyl radicals (OH^.) and photogenerated holes (h⁺) identified as the predominant reactive species involved in MO degradation. In addition, G-ZnO-NPs demonstrate superior antibacterial activity than both reference ZnO samples particularly against <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>. These results highlight the potential of the cinnamon-based synthesis method as an eco-friendly strategy for producing ZnO-NPs with tailored properties offering a dual benefit for addressing water pollution and antibacterial resistance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bandwidth enhancement of VO(_2) based thermally tunable terahertz metamaterial absorber using inter-element coupling","authors":"Aayushi Garg,&nbsp;Mukesh Verma,&nbsp;Yugandhar Bitla,&nbsp;Kapil Saraswat","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10141-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10141-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this paper, bandwidth enhancement of a thermally tunable terahertz (THz) perfect metamaterial absorber is presented. The proposed metamaterial absorber consists of star-shaped sub-elements of <span>(mathrm {VO_2})</span> arranged in a hexagonal lattice with one sub-element placed at the center forming meta-atom with a metallic (Au) ground plane and a silicon dioxide (<span>(mathrm {SiO_2})</span>) dielectric substrate separating them. Due to inter-element coupling, the bandwidth is enhanced resulting wide-band absorption. A full-wave EM simulation tool is used for systematic design of the wideband absorber and for numerical validation. The simulation results exhibit a 77.60% absorption bandwidth of more than 90% absorbance as wide as 4.15 THz from 3.27 THz to 7.42 THz under different polarization and incident angles. The high tunability of absorbance from 3.29% to 100% is demonstrated by changing the <span>(mathrm {VO_2})</span> conductivity from <span>(2times 10^2)</span> S/m to <span>(2times 10^5)</span> S/m. Interference cancellation and impedance matching theories are utilized to optimize the geometric structure for wideband absorption and efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed absorber offers polarization angle insensitivity and a wide incident-angle absorption effect in both TE and TM modes. These promising properties are due to increased elemental coupling of the metamaterial absorber. Its tunable ultra-broadband nature makes it promising for potential applications like modulation, cloaking, switching, and imaging technologies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}