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We present an optically transparent, flexible, and polarization-independent broadband microwave absorber. It is designed to possess two spectrally overlapped resonances of a bow-tie array, which originates from the fundamental resonance mode and the coupling between the neighboring units. An Al wire gird is used to construct the bow-tie array to induce high ohmic loss and broaden the bandwidth of the resonances. As a result, the combined resonances lead to more than 90% total absorption covering a wide frequency range from 5.8 to 12.2 GHz. The transparent and flexible properties provide more flexibility for absorber applications. The optical transmittance of the whole structure is more than 62%.

Next-generation 'smart' nanoparticle systems should be precisely engineered in size, shape and composition to introduce multiple functionalities, unattainable from a single material. Bottom-up chemical methods are prized for the synthesis of crystalline nanoparticles, that is, nanocrystals, with size- and shape-dependent physical properties, but they are less successful in achieving multifunctionality. Top-down lithographic methods can produce multifunctional nanoparticles with precise size and shape control, yet this becomes increasingly difficult at sizes of ∼10 nm. Here, we report the fabrication of multifunctional, smart nanoparticle systems by combining top-down fabrication and bottom-up self-assembly methods. Particularly, we template nanorods from a mixture of superparamagnetic ZnFeO and plasmonic Au nanocrystals. The superparamagnetism of ZnFeO prevents these nanorods from spontaneous magnetic-dipole-induced aggregation, while their magnetic anisotropy makes them responsive to an external field. Ligand exchange drives Au nanocrystal fusion and forms a porous network, imparting the nanorods with high mechanical strength and polarization-dependent infrared surface plasmon resonances. The combined superparamagnetic and plasmonic functions enable switching of the infrared transmission of a hybrid nanorod suspension using an external magnetic field.

Quantum interferometers are powerful tools for probing the wave-nature and exchange statistics of indistinguishable particles. Of particular interest are interferometers formed by the chiral, onedimensional (1D) edge channels of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) that guide electrons without dissipation. Using quantum point contacts (QPCs) as beamsplitters, these 1D channels can be split and recombined, enabling interference of charged particles. Such quantum Hall interferometers (QHIs) can be used for studying exchange statistics of anyonic quasiparticles. In this study we develop a robust QHI fabrication technique in van der Waals (vdW) materials and realize a graphene-based Fabry-Pérot (FP) QHI. By careful heterostructure design, we are able to measure pure Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interference effect in the integer QHE, a major technical challenge in finite size FP interferometers. We find that integer edge modes exhibit high visibility interference due to relatively large velocities and long phase coherence lengths. Our QHI with tunable QPCs presents a versatile platform for interferometer studies in vdW materials and enables future experiments in the fractional QHE.