Optimized aperiodic highly directional narrowband infrared emitters

摘要

Bulk thermal emittance sources possess incoherent, isotropic, and broadband radiation spectra that vary from material to material. However, these radiation spectra can be drastically altered by modifying the geometry of the structures. In particular, several approaches have been proposed to achieve narrowband, highly directional thermal emittance based on photonic crystals, gratings, textured metal surfaces, metamaterials, and shock waves propagating through a crystal. Here we present optimized aperiodic structures for use as narrowband, highly directional thermal infrared emitters for both TE and TM polarizations. One-dimensional layered structures without texturing are preferable to more complex two- and three-dimensional structures because of the relative ease and low cost of fabrication. These aperiodic multilayer structures designed with alternating layers of silicon and silica on top of a semi-infinite tungsten substrate exhibit extremely high emittance peaked around the wavelength at which the structures are optimized. Structures were designed by a genetic optimization algorithm coupled to a transfer matrix code which computed thermal emittance. First, we investigate the properties of the genetic-algorithm optimized aperiodic structures and compare them to a previously proposed resonant cavity design. Second, we investigate a structure optimized to operate at the Wien wavelength corresponding to a near-maximum operating temperature for the materials used in the aperiodic structure. Finally, we present a structure that exhibits nearly monochromatic and highly directional emittance for both TE and TM polarizations at the frequency of one of the molecular resonances of carbon monoxide (CO); hence, the design is suitable for a detector of CO via absorption spectroscopy.