• Rapid Communication

Active thermal extraction of near-field thermal radiation

D. Ding, T. Kim, and A. J. Minnich
Phys. Rev. B 93, 081402(R) – Published 2 February 2016
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Radiative heat transport between materials supporting surface-phonon polaritons is greatly enhanced when the materials are placed at subwavelength separation as a result of the contribution of near-field surface modes. However, the enhancement is limited to small separations due to the evanescent decay of the surface waves. In this work, we propose and numerically demonstrate an active scheme to extract these modes to the far field. Our approach exploits the monochromatic nature of near-field thermal radiation to drive a transition in a laser gain medium, which, when coupled with external optical pumping, allows the resonant surface mode to be emitted into the far field. Our study demonstrates an approach to manipulate thermal radiation that could find applications in thermal management.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 2 April 2015
  • Revised 13 January 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.081402

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

D. Ding, T. Kim, and A. J. Minnich*

  • Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

  • *aminnich@caltech.edu

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 8 — 15 February 2016

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review B

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×