Thermal Emission Control using Photonic Crystals

To achieve the requisite fast, dynamic thermal switching times, we postulate the use of a Photonic Crystal (PC) filament operating at l=1-2mm. Our electrically biased PC design will be super thin to allow for fast on-off intensity-switching. It will have a small thermal mass and exhibit laser-like input-output characteristics, i.e. “Planck laser”. We will provide a theoretical framework for our PC-filament that breaks the traditional reciprocity of absorption and emission. We will develop and model a theoretical basis for our approach to the active modulation of the intensity of thermal emission. For directional switching, our approach uses electro-optical modulation to dynamically change the wave-front of the radiation. A theoretical model to predict the active steering of PC thermal emission will be developed.