Ultra-Wideband Solar Energy Absorption Device Based on Metal–Dielectric Symmetrical Gap Separation

Solar energy stands as one of the most promising green energy sources today. This paper proposes a symmetrical gap-type separated solar absorber and radiator (SETR) featuring a dielectric layer of Al2O3 and metal W as separation columns. Its unique structure enhances absorption within the effective solar energy spectrum, thereby alleviating solar energy absorption challenges. The finite difference time domain method (FDTD) results show that the SETR achieves an absorption rate of more than 90% in the 280–2096 nm band, which perfectly covers the visible light band range. The weighted average absorption in the 280–2500 nm band is 95.22% under AM1.5 conditions. The thermal emission efficiency at 1500 K is 95.13%, and the thermal radiation loss is less than 5%. Beyond analyzing the results, we also investigated the overall band absorption efficiency of the SETR under varying conditions by adjusting its structural parameters and physical parameters such as materials. This approach enables effective control over the absorption spectrum. Additionally, the proposed SETR is independent of polarization conditions. Both the TM and TE modes are insensitive to large incident angles. In the future, broadband SETRs can be applied to solar energy harvesting, thermoelectric conversion, and imaging fields, as it holds broad application prospects.