Controlling thermal emission with refractory epsilon-near-zero metamaterials via topological transitions

P. N. Dyachenko (), S. Molesky, A. Yu Petrov, M. Störmer, T. Krekeler, S. Lang, M. Ritter, Z. Jacob and M. Eich
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P. N. Dyachenko: Institute of Optical and Electronic Materials, Hamburg University of Technology
S. Molesky: University of Alberta
A. Yu Petrov: Institute of Optical and Electronic Materials, Hamburg University of Technology
M. Störmer: Institute of Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research
T. Krekeler: Electron Microscopy Unit, Hamburg University of Technology
S. Lang: Institute of Optical and Electronic Materials, Hamburg University of Technology
M. Ritter: Electron Microscopy Unit, Hamburg University of Technology
Z. Jacob: University of Alberta
M. Eich: Institute of Optical and Electronic Materials, Hamburg University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Control of thermal radiation at high temperatures is vital for waste heat recovery and for high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic (TPV) conversion. Previously, structural resonances utilizing gratings, thin film resonances, metasurfaces and photonic crystals were used to spectrally control thermal emission, often requiring lithographic structuring of the surface and causing significant angle dependence. In contrast, here, we demonstrate a refractory W-HfO2 metamaterial, which controls thermal emission through an engineered dielectric response function. The epsilon-near-zero frequency of a metamaterial and the connected optical topological transition (OTT) are adjusted to selectively enhance and suppress the thermal emission in the near-infrared spectrum, crucial for improved TPV efficiency. The near-omnidirectional and spectrally selective emitter is obtained as the emission changes due to material properties and not due to resonances or interference effects, marking a paradigm shift in thermal engineering approaches. We experimentally demonstrate the OTT in a thermally stable metamaterial at high temperatures of 1,000 °C.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11809

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