We have developed several strategies for modulating the infrared absorptivity and emissivity of metasurfaces via electrical control signal. These employ such approaches as voltage-induced symmetry breaking and period doubling for controlling the coupling between a guided mode of the metasurface and the continuum. We further describe potential applications in encoding and encrypting light, for development of secure tags.
We investigate methods for dynamic reshaping of the spectral and directional characteristics of thermal emissivity from warm objects, using micro patterning. In our design work, we propose infrared meta material structures for on/off switching of emissivity peaks. We use index perturbation to break the symmetry of a dark mode formed by coupling between a pair of resonators, allowing the mode to emit. We further introduce coupled cavity structures for which small index perturbations cause a large change in the dominant angle of thermal emission. In our experimental implementations, we demonstrate voltage tuning of spectral peaks in metamaterials based on epitaxial transfer of p-i-n GaAs structures to the intermediate layer of a MIM metamaterial.
We investigate the use of period-doubling perturbations for switching on / off absorptive and emissive processes in microstructured materials. We first design periodic gratings to support guided resonance modes that enhance absorption in the vicinity of the resonance wavelength. We then introduce a refractive index perturbation that effectively doubles the period of the original grating. Given proper design, we can introduce a photonic band gap at the edge of the new Brillouin zone, "erasing" the original resonance mode at the operating wavelength. We discuss applications to electrically-modulated emissive control in both visible-wavelength, photoemissive and infrared-wavelength, thermally emissive structures.
We design a non-reciprocal infrared thermal emitter that exhibits unequal absorptivity and emissivity. A graphene grating over a slab is used to create high Q-guided resonances. Non-reciprocity is induced by dynamic modulation of the Fermi energy of graphene to drive interband photonic transitions. We show that strong contrast between absorptivity and emissivity can be obtained with realistic modulation frequencies of 10’s of GHz. This study presents a graphene-based platform for non-reciprocal thermal emitters. These results open up exciting new possibilities for electrical control over absorptive and emissive characteristics in the infrared.
We propose a non-reciprocal infrared thermal emitter that exhibits unequal absorptivity and emissivity. Graphene grating over a slab is used to create high Q guided resonances. Dynamic modulation of Fermi energy of graphene is used to drive photonic transitions, inducing non-reciprocity. We show that strong contrast between absorptivity and emissivity can be obtained with realistic modulation frequencies of 10’s of GHz. This study presents a graphene-based platform for non-reciprocal thermal emitters.
We investigate strategies for designing metasurfaces with electrically reconfigurable infrared absorption and emission spectra. We use coupled-mode theory to provide a framework for design. One approach to tuning uses localized photonic resonators, while a second approach uses extended grating modes. We investigate the use of symmetry-breaking and period-doubling strategies to create, destroy, and shift spectral absorption lines. Such strategies are anticipated to be useful for the communication of information on multiple wavelength channels in the infrared.
We analyze a near-field thermoradiative device that consists of an indium arsenide-based photodiode under negative illumination. We analyze a possible enhancement of conversion efficiency by use of hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) in place of bulk metallic heat sink. A stack of alternating thin-films of metal [zirconium carbide (ZrC)] and dielectric [silicon dioxide (SiO2)] is chosen to be the HMM under investigation. The presence of hyperbolic modes creates additional channels of near-field radiative transfer. An increased power density is predicted without a compromise in system efficiency.
KEYWORDS: Nanoparticles, Aluminum, Solar thermal energy, Nanocomposites, Hybrid fiber optics, Photonic metamaterials, Solar energy, Solar cells, Photonic devices, Thin films
Wavelength-selective thermal devices have great applications in concentrating solar power systems, high-temperature thermoelectric systems, and solar thermophotovoltaics (STPVs). Lack of high-temperature stability and spectrally selective emissivity in different wavelength regions limits their efficiency. We propose a one-dimensional HfO2 / Al2O3-W nanocomposites / W / Al2O3 / W multilayered photonic structure as potential wavelength selective thermal devices, and theoretically investigate the emission properties of the proposed Mie-resonance metamaterials from visible (VIS) to midinfrared (MIR) region. HfO2 thin layer is introduced to serve as an antireflection coating film and W layer acts as an IR reflection layer that enhances the absorptivity/emissivity in VIS and near-infrared (NIR) region while reducing the MIR emission simultaneously. Effects of geometric parameters are discussed, such as different radii and volume fractions of W nanoparticles, the thickness of Al2O3-W nanocomposites, and HfO2 thin film. The proposed thermal absorber and emitter exhibit nearly unity absorptance in both VIS and NIR regions, while the emittance approaches zero in the MIR region. The selective absorption/emission window is tunable by varying geometric parameters. The proposed solar thermal devices have great potentials in engineering applications such as STPVs and solar thermoelectric generator due to flexibility of geometric parameters and ease of fabrication.
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