Graphene-Based Active Modulation of Near Field Thermal Radiation

ORAL

Abstract

Modern heat switches for thermal regulation of electronics or refrigeration systems require mechanical components, either as pumps to transport a working fluid or as thermally conducting mechanical linkages. Such systems are difficult to apply at sufficiently small length scales and lack the reliability of non-mechanical systems. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate the modulation of heat flow in a solid-state system using near-field radiative effects. Modulating the carrier concentration in graphene using electrostatic gating enables the radiative flux to another graphene sheet to be actively tuned. Our work highlights the capability for active control of radiative heat flow using electrical biasing of atomically thin films.

*This work is part of the ‘Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion’ Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0001293.

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Presenters

  • Nathan Thomas

    • California Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Nathan Thomas

    • California Institute of Technology

  • Michelle Scherrot

    • California Institute of Technology

  • Harry Atwater

    • Caltech
    • Applied Physics and Materials Science, California Institute of Technology
    • California Institute of Technology
    • Thomas J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology
    • Applied Physics and Material Science, Caltech
    • Thomas J. Watson Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology
    • Applied Physics and Materials Sciences, California Institute of Technology
    • Applied Physics and Material Science, California Institute of Technology

  • Austin Minnich

    • California Institute of Technology
    • Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology
    • Caltech
    • Mechanical and Civil Engineering, California Institute of Technology
    • Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
    • Division of Engineering and Applied Science, Caltech