Bo Zhao
University of Houston – Houston, Texas, USA
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Originated from random fluctuations, thermal radiation is typically incoherent, and its intensity is subject to the blackbody limit. Improving the coherence and intensity of thermal radiation is of great importance to photon-mediated energy and thermal systems. As a photonic material with hyperbolic isofrequency surfaces, hBN allows for a large density of states in the hyperbolic region. Such unique properties can be exploited to significantly improve the coherence and intensity of thermal emission. In this talk, I will discuss the role of hBN in controlling thermal radiation in the far- and near-field regimes. In the far-field regime, hBN resonators, even those with only several atomic layers, can host high Q-factor resonances that can significantly improve the coherence of far-field thermal emission. In the near-field, the hyperbolic response can trigger efficient photon tunneling and significantly enhance the intensity of radiative heat transfer. I also highlight a recent work in which we show the unique role of the edges in the conversion of hyperbolic polaritons.
Email: bzhao8@uh.edu