Tunable absorption and selective thermal emission from engineered metals with thin dielectric coatings

The mid-infrared is a technologically important region of the electromagnetic spectrum because it includes both the peak thermal emission of objects at room temperature and the molecular absorption resonances of many common liquids and gases. Thermal sensing and imaging is widely used in industrial and defense applications, and the ability to manipulate an object’s thermal emission spectrum has important implications for enhancing or thwarting detection of an object’s thermal signature. According to Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation, altering an object’s emissivity is equivalent to altering its absorptivity. In this thesis, we investigate a simple planar structure for achieving tunable, polarization- and angle-independent perfect absorption in the mid-infrared. Additionally, we demonstrate tunable selective thermal emission upon heating the device.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Streyer, William

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wasserman, Daniel M.

• mid-infrared
• perfect absorber
• selective thermal emission
• engineered metal
• highly-doped semiconductor

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 William Henderson Streyer

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72756

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/72756