Integrated and spectrally selective thermal emitters enabled by layered metamaterials

Nanophotonic engineering of light-matter interaction at subwavelength scale allows thermal radiation that is fundamentally different from that of traditional thermal emitters and provides exciting opportunities for various thermal-photonic applications. We propose a new kind of integrated and electrically controlled thermal emitter that exploits layered metamaterials with lithography-free and dielectric/metallic nanolayers. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the proposed concept can create a strong photonic bandgap in the visible regime and allow small impedance mismatch at the infrared wavelengths, which gives rise to optical features of significantly enhanced emissivity at the broad infrared wavelengths of 1.4-14 mu m as well as effectively suppressed emissivity in the visible region. The electrically driven metamaterial devices are optically and thermally stable at temperatures up to similar to 800 K with electro-optical conversion efficiency reaching similar to 30%. We believe that the proposed high-efficiency thermal emitters will pave the way toward integrated infrared light source platforms for various thermal-photonic applications and particularly provide a novel alternative for cost-effective, compact, low glare, and energy-efficient infrared heating.

Automated summary

The proposed electrically controlled thermal emitter based on nanophotonic engineering with layered metamaterials demonstrates significantly enhanced emissivity in the broad infrared wavelengths and optical features of a strong photonic bandgap. The electrically driven metamaterial devices are optically and thermally stable at temperatures up to 800K with an electro-optical conversion efficiency of approximately 30%, providing a novel alternative for cost-effective, compact, low glare, and energy-efficient infrared heating.