Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026
10:54
Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Characterization of Plasmonic Photoconductive Terahertz Emitters
Published on: July 8, 2013
Polarized thermal radiation by layer-by-layer metallic emitters with sub-wavelength grating
Jae-Hwang Lee1, Wai Leung, Tae Guen Kim
1Ames Laboratory U.S .DOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA. leejh@iastate.edu
Optics Express
|June 12, 2008
Summary
Researchers developed metallic thermal emitters with nickel gratings for polarized thermal radiation. These emitters achieve high extinction ratios and emissivity in the mid-infrared spectrum, showing potential for selective thermal emission control.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Metallic thermal emitters are crucial for controlling thermal radiation.
- Tailoring emissivity for specific applications requires precise control over wavelength and polarization.
- Sub-wavelength gratings offer a promising route for manipulating electromagnetic waves.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and characterize metallic thermal emitters with dual-layer nickel gratings.
- To investigate the polarized thermal radiation properties of these nanostructured emitters.
- To explore the relationship between grating structure, electric field enhancement, and selective emissivity.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of dual-layer nickel gratings on a homogeneous nickel layer using soft lithography.
- Measurement of polarized thermal radiation spectra in the mid-infrared range.
- Numerical simulations to analyze electric field distribution and its correlation with grating structure.
Main Results:
- The fabricated thermal emitters exhibited a high extinction ratio (up to 5) over a broad mid-infrared range (3.2–7.8 µm).
- High emissivity (up to 0.65) was observed at a wavelength of 3.7 µm.
- Numerical simulations confirmed localized high electric fields within the grating structures, dependent on polarization.
- Measurements showed excellent agreement with theoretical predictions.
Conclusions:
- Dual-layer nickel gratings enable selective enhancement of metal emissivity for specific wavelengths and polarizations.
- The observed polarization-dependent electric field enhancement is key to achieving controlled thermal emission.
- This work provides a pathway for designing advanced thermal emitters with tailored radiative properties.
