Radiative heat transfer between two dielectric nanogratings in the scattering approach

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of radiative heat transfer between dielectric nanogratings, comparing exact scattering approach results with the Proximity Approximation, and explores the impact of lateral displacement on heat transfer.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed scattering approach analysis of heat transfer between nanogratings and evaluates the validity of the Proximity Approximation under various conditions.

Findings

PA is accurate for aligned gratings

PA fails for laterally displaced gratings

Lateral displacement significantly affects heat transfer

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of radiative heat transfer between dielectric nanogratings in the scattering approach. As a comparision with these exact results, we also evaluate the domain of validity of Derjaguin's Proximity Approximation (PA). We consider a system of two corrugated silica plates with various grating geometries, separation distances, and lateral displacement of the plates with respect to one another. Numerical computations show that while the PA is a good approximation for aligned gratings, it cannot be used when the gratings are laterally displaced. We illustrate this by a thermal modulator device for nanosystems based on such a displacement.