K. Joulain | Searcharxiv

arXiv2011

Fast heat flux modulation at the nanoscale

We introduce a new concept for electrically controlled heat flux modulation. A flux contrast larger than 10 dB is expected with switching time on the order of tens of nanoseconds. Heat flux modulation is based on the interplay between radiative heat transfer at the nanoscale and phase change materials. Such large contrasts are not obtainable in solids, or in far field. As such this opens up new horizons for temperature modulation and actuation at the nanoscale.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Definition and measurement of the local density of electromagnetic states close to an interface

We propose in this article an unambiguous definition of the local density of electromagnetic states (LDOS) in a vacuum near an interface in an equilibrium situation at temperature $T$. We show that the LDOS depends only on the electric field Green function of the system but does not reduce in general to the trace of its imaginary part as often used in the literature. We illustrate this result by a study of the LDOS variations with the distance to an interface and point out deviations from the standard definition. We show nevertheless that this definition remains correct at frequencies close to the material resonances such as surface polaritons. We also study the feasability of detecting such a LDOS with apetureless SNOM techniques. We first show that a thermal near-field emission spectrum above a sample should be detectable and that this measurement could give access to the electromagnetic LDOS. It is further shown that the apertureless SNOM is the optical analog of the scanning tunneling microscope which is known to detect the electronic LDOS. We also discuss some recent SNOM experiments aimed at detecting the electromagnetic LDOS.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2000

Spatial coherence of thermal near fields

We analyze the spatial coherence of the electromagnetic field emitted by a half-space at temperature T close to the interface. An asymptotic analysis allows to identify three different contributions to the cross-spectral density tensor in the near-field regime. It is shown that the coherence length can be either much larger or much shorter than the wavelength depending on the dominant contribution.

physics.optics↗