Thermal emission from three-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles

TL;DR

This paper investigates the thermal emission properties of three-dimensional gold nanoparticle arrays, revealing their potential as efficient, broadband selective emitters for applications like thermophotovoltaics and sensing.

Contribution

It introduces an ab initio multiple-scattering method to analyze blackbody spectra from gold nanoparticle photonic crystals, highlighting their high emissivity and application potential.

Findings

Broadband emission spectrum with ~90% emissivity

Emission characteristics depend on crystal thickness and particle size

Potential use in thermophotovoltaics and sensing

Abstract

We study the blackbody spectrum from slabs of three-dimensional metallodielectric photonic crystals consisting of gold nanoparticles using an ab initio multiple-scattering method. The spectra are calculated for different photonic-crystal slab thicknesses, particle radii and hosting materials. We find in particular that such crystals exhibit a broadband emission spectrum above a specific cutoff frequency with emissivity of about 90%. The studied photonic crystals can be used as efficient selective emitters and can therefore find application in thermophotovoltaics and sensing.