Nanodevice-Enabled Near-Field Thermal Radiation between Sub-Wavelength Surfaces

TL;DR

This paper reports the first experimental measurement of near-field thermal energy transfer between sub-wavelength nanostructures, revealing a significant enhancement in heat transfer and implications for nanodevice design in energy applications.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental demonstration of near-field energy transport between coplanar sub-wavelength structures, highlighting effects of confinement on heat transfer.

Findings

20-fold enhancement in heat transfer beyond blackbody radiation

Sub-wavelength confinement reduces supporting modes and heat flow

Implications for on-chip energy transport and thermal management

Abstract

With the continuous advancement of nanotechnology, nanodevices have become crucial components in computing, sensing and energy conversion applications. However, the structures of nanodevices typically possess sub-wavelength dimensions and separations, which pose significant challenges for understanding energy transport phenomena in nanodevices. Here, based on a judiciously designed thermal nanodevice, we report the first measurement of near-field energy transport between two coplanar sub-wavelength structures over temperature bias up to ~190 K. Our experimental results demonstrate a remarkable 20-fold enhancement in heat transfer beyond blackbody radiation. In contrast with the well-established near-field interactions between two semi-infinite bodies, the sub-wavelength confinements in nanodevices lead to the increased polariton scattering and the reduction of supporting modes and therefore a lower heat flow at a given separation. Our work unveils exciting opportunities for the rational design of nanodevices, particularly for on-chip near-field energy transport, with important implications for the development of efficient nanodevices for energy harvesting and thermal management.