Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer Modulation with an Ultrahigh Dynamic Range through Mode Mismatching

Kezhang Shi; Zhaoyang Chen; Yuxin Xing; Jianxin Yang; Xinan Xu; Julian S Evans; Sailing He

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01286

Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer Modulation with an Ultrahigh Dynamic Range through Mode Mismatching

Nano Lett. 2022 Oct 12;22(19):7753-7760. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01286. Epub 2022 Sep 26.

Authors

Kezhang Shi¹, Zhaoyang Chen², Yuxin Xing^{1

3}, Jianxin Yang², Xinan Xu¹, Julian S Evans¹, Sailing He^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
² Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, ZJU-SCNU Joint Center of Photonics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
³ Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, Shanghai 201203, China.
⁴ Department of Electromagnetic Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm S-100 44, Sweden.

Abstract

Modulating near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) with a high dynamic range is challenging in nanoscale thermal science and engineering. Modulation depths [(maximum value - minimum value)/(maximum value + minimum value) × 100%] of ≈2% to ≈15.7% have been reported with matched modes, but breaking the constraint of mode matching theoretically allows for higher modulation depth. We demonstrate a modulation depth of ≈32.2% by a pair of graphene-covered SU8 heterostructures at a gap distance of ≈80 nm. Dissimilar Fermi levels tuned by bias voltages enable mismatched surface plasmon polaritons which improves the modulation. The modulation depth when switching from a matched mode to a mismatched mode is ≈4.4-fold compared to that when switching between matched modes. This work shows the importance of symmetry in polariton-mediated NFRHT and represents the largest modulation depth to date in a two-body system with fixed gap distance and temperature.

Keywords: fluctuational electrodynamics; graphene; mode mismatching; modulation of near-field radiative heat transfer; radiative heat transfer measurement; surface plasmon polaritons coupling.