Principal Investigator Ivan Celanovic
The ability of photonic crystals to tailor thermal radiation and modify spontaneous emission is opening immense possibilities for new energy conversion devices, sensors, detectors, infra-red radiation sources and further. Indeed, photonic crystals offer unparalleled possibilities for designing thermal radiation sources with properties that are often non-intuitive and deviate significantly from those of typical grey-body sources. Research focuses on two aspects of photonic crystals thermal radiation “shaping” devices, namely: broad-band and narrow-band thermal radiation sources and filters.
Photonic crystals for broad-band thermal radiation shaping -- We have extensively studied one-dimensional and two-dimensional photonic crystals as selective, broadband, optical filters/mirrors and thermal emitters. We have shown that photonic crystals provide a wonderful framework for broadband shaping, filtering and generating thermal radiation. One of the most exciting applications for photonic crystals as broad-band thermal radiation shaping devices are low-temperature, high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic systems. Indeed, the ability to tailor simultaneously photonic bandgap in PhC’s and electronic bandgap in low-bandgap III-V semiconductor materials (e.g. GaInAsSb) enabled record breaking TPV efficiencies.
Resonant thermal emission -- The group has been studying the phenomenon of resonant thermal emission in photonic crystal materials for quiet some time. We have invented and designed a couple of PhC’s that exhibit narrow band, highly directional, partially coherent, tunable thermal emission. This is completely counterintuitive to conventional understanding of blackbody radiation or grey body radiation. In addition, we have discovered several highly anomalous radiation phenomena arising from the reach physics of photonic crystals