Physics

Nanotechnology

Common emitter

Heat transfer

Engineering physics

Millimeter

Optics

Computer graphics (images)

Radiation

Planar

Black-body radiation

Composite material

Thermal conduction

Materials science

Computer science

Optoelectronics

Radiative transfer

Thermal radiation

Thermodynamics

Nature Nanotechnology

Recently, several reports have experimentally shown near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) exceeding the far-field blackbody limit between planar surfaces1–5. However, owing to the difficulties associated with maintaining the nanosized gap required for measuring a near-field enhancement, these demonstrations have been limited to experiments that cannot be implemented in large-scale devices. This poses a bottleneck to the deployment of NFRHT concepts in practical applications. Here, we describe a device bridging laboratory-scale measurements and potential NFRHT engineering applications in energy conversion6,7 and thermal management8–10. We report a maximum NFRHT enhancement of approximately 28.5 over the blackbody limit with devices made of millimetre-sized doped Si surfaces separated by vacuum gap spacings down to approximately 110 nm. The devices use micropillars, separating the high-temperature emitter and low-temperature receiver, manufactured within micrometre-deep pits. These micropillars, which are about 4.5 to 45 times longer than the nanosize vacuum spacing at which radiation transfer takes place, minimize parasitic heat conduction without sacrificing the structural integrity of the device. The robustness of our devices enables gap spacing visualization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before performing NFRHT measurements. An enhancement of 28.5 times beyond the blackbody radiation limit is demonstrated between two plates 110 nm apart in a chip-scale device.

A near-field radiative heat transfer device