Thermal Emission from Structured Media
type: CreativeWork
description: This dissertation covers a study of the use of macroscopic structure as a means of controlling thermal emission in the THz and mid-IR frequency regions. Chapter 1 presents a brief introduction to the THz frequency region and to the concept of the photonic crystal, the primary type of geometry used. Chapter 2 compares the two most common methods used to calculate the thermal emission of a structure whose components are all at the same temperature. These methods are compared in terms of the results they give and in terms of how computationally involved the methods are. The first method explored involves using Kirchhoff's law of thermal emission which equates the absorptivity and emissivity of a structure. The second method is to calculate the emission directly from the Green's function using the microscopic thermal currents given by the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem. A derivation of the second method is given, and the equality between the two methods is proven in 1D. It is shown that the Kirchhoff's law method is much more computationally efficient, and it is therefore used for the parametric studies of the structures which make up the remainder of this document. Chapter 3 covers work done in the THz regime. In the THz frequency regime, where a historic lack of sources has in part impeded full exploration and utilization, a photonic crystal design is proposed to control the thermal emission. It is shown that using a 1D bi-layered photonic crystal, composed of alternating section of silicon wafers and vacuum sections, it is possible to tailor many narrowband emission features over a broadband frequency range. In simulation both spectral and directional thermal emission control is demonstrated, and a parametric study is performed to explore how changes in the geometry of the photonic crystal change its thermal emission signature. A description is then given of how the photonic crystal is constructed and how its thermal emission is measured using Fourier transform spec…
abstract: This dissertation covers a study of the use of macroscopic structure as a means of controlling thermal emission in the THz and mid-IR frequency regions. Chapter 1 presents a brief introduction to the THz frequency region and to the concept of the photonic crystal, the primary type of geometry used. Chapter 2 compares the two most common methods used to calculate the thermal emission of a structure whose components are all at the same temperature. These methods are compared in terms of the results they give and in terms of how computationally involved the methods are. The first method explored involves using Kirchhoff's law of thermal emission which equates the absorptivity and emissivity of a structure. The second method is to calculate the emission directly from the Green's function using the microscopic thermal currents given by the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem. A derivation of the second method is given, and the equality between the two methods is proven in 1D. It is shown that the Kirchhoff's law method is much more computationally efficient, and it is therefore used for the parametric studies of the structures which make up the remainder of this document. Chapter 3 covers work done in the THz regime. In the THz frequency regime, where a historic lack of sources has in part impeded full exploration and utilization, a photonic crystal design is proposed to control the thermal emission. It is shown that using a 1D bi-layered photonic crystal, composed of alternating section of silicon wafers and vacuum sections, it is possible to tailor many narrowband emission features over a broadband frequency range. In simulation both spectral and directional thermal emission control is demonstrated, and a parametric study is performed to explore how changes in the geometry of the photonic crystal change its thermal emission signature. A description is then given of how the photonic crystal is constructed and how its thermal emission is measured using Fourier transform spec…
author: Zimmerman, Ian Andrew
language: en_US
keywords: Physics
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:55:23Z
provider: University of Arizona
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Arizona.

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/332829