High Performance Thermal Emitters Based on Laser Engineered Surfaces

In systems experiencing high temperature load, especially those under vacuum, radiative heat transfer plays a significant role. The key material parameter in heat transfer by radiation is spectral emissivity. The ability to engineer radiative response in a wide spectral region is therefore of paramount importance for radiation cooling of high temperature systems. Thermal emission control can be achieved via modification of surface topography and is currently realised with photonic crystal structures that can be tuned to enhance emissivity in a particular spectral region [1] as well as textured metallic coatings for a broadband emissivity control [2].