2004 Articles

Thermal Radiation from Photonic Crystals: A Direct Calculation

Narayanaswamy, Arvind; Chen, Gang; Chen, Dye-Zone; Luo, Chiyan; Joannopoulos, J. D.

A classical simulation of equilibrium thermal emissivity from dispersive, lossy photonic crystals is presented. Normal emission results consistent with those assuming Kirchoff's law are obtained; i.e., a photonic crystal does not emit more than what a blackbody does. Significant enhancement, however, can be achieved over the radiation intensity from a uniform slab, indicating the potential usefulness of photonic crystals in incandescent lighting and thermal photovoltaic applications.A classical simulation of equilibrium thermal emissivity from dispersive, lossy photonic crystals is presented. Normal emission results consistent with those assuming Kirchoff's law are obtained; i.e., a photonic crystal does not emit more than what a blackbody does. Significant enhancement, however, can be achieved over the radiation intensity from a uniform slab, indicating the potential usefulness of photonic crystals in incandescent lighting and thermal photovoltaic applications.