Engineering Near-Field Transport of Energy using Nanostructured Materials
Abstract
The transport of heat at the nanometer scale is becoming increasingly important for a wide range of nanotechnology applications. Recent computational studies on near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) suggest that radiative energy transport between suitably chosen/tailored parallel surfaces increases dramaticallyby about three orders of magnitudeabove that predicted by the Stefan-Boltzmann law, when the gap between the surfaces is reduced to the nanometer range. In addition, the thermal surface emissions for tailored materials are predicted to be monochromatic, suggesting that these phenomena may enable ground-breaking advances in the thermal management of micro devices and nanoscale-gap thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion devices. However, direct experimental verification of the predicted NFRHT between parallel surfaces, with nanoscale precision, has not been achieved although it is critical for additional progress. In this project we have developed a variety of tools for probing NFRHT in nanoscale gaps between nanostructured materials. This includes both scanning probes with embedded thermocouples for near-field radiation studies and micro-devices for measuring thermal transport in nanoscale gaps in both sphere-plane and plane-plane configurations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 12, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1008291
Entities
People
- Edgar Meyhofer
- Pramod Reddy
Organizations
- University of Michigan