Collaborative Research: Electrically Modulated Near-field Thermophotonics with Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Nanostructures

合作研究：金属氧化物半导体纳米结构的电调制近场热光子学

• 批准号: 2309663
• 负责人: Liping Wang
• 金额: $ 25.2万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-11-01 至 2026-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2309663&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Electrically; Modulated; Near

Collaborative Research: Electrically Modulated Near-field Thermophotonics with Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Nanostructures Thermophotonics is crucial to heat-to-power conversion, non-contact thermal management, thermal imaging, and laser manufacturing, where dynamically tunable thermal emission or absorption are highly desired with great controllability and versatility. We aim to employ metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) nanostructures to achieve significant modulation of radiative heat transfer via electrical tuning with heat flux exceeding the far-field blackbody limit. The success of this project would ultimately lead to novel applications of tunable thermoelectric conversion, heat control, thermal circuits with thermophotonic means. The research outcomes will be quickly disseminated through journal publications, conference presentations and course teaching. The PIs will train the next generation of workforce with an emphasis on broader participation of underrepresented groups such as female and minority students. Graduate students will learn the fundamentals of multiple disciplines, which will well prepare them for solving future energy challenges in engineering communities. The undergraduate research programs at ASU and UA offer a great opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in the research activities in the PIs’ labs. The PIs will engage local K-12 students through various outreaching programs at ASU and UA, aiming to spark their interests in STEM. It is known that the capacitance of planar MOS structures varies with the gate voltage which causes depletion or accumulation of free charge carriers within the semiconductor, but it occurs only in the ultrathin active region very close to the oxide interface on the order of ~10 nm approximated by the Debye length. With the infrared penetration depth of planar semiconductor on the order of micrometers, the absorption variation within such ultrathin active region could barely cause appreciable modulation absorption/emission within the whole structure. The proposed near-field MOS nanostructure would overcome this challenge by utilizing a fin field-effect transistor with the wrap-around ultrathin metal electrode and oxide gate layers as well as near-field effect. The carrier concentration of the semiconductor nanostructures whose diameter is about several tens of nanometers will change significantly with depletion or accumulation upon electrical gating. The drastically varied dielectric functions of the nanostructure layer will lead to electrically modulated near-field radiative heat transfer. By placing the MOS nanostructure in close proximity to an emitting surface with nanometric gap distances, the near-field effect with coupled evanescent waves could occur to enhance the radiative energy significantly surpassing the far-field blackbody limit. The proposed research project will be carried out with a combination of theoretical and experimental tasks including design and theoretical modeling, sample fabrication and characterization, near-field measurements and metrology development, as well as validation and optimization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

合作研究：采用金属氧化物半导体纳米结构的电调制近场热光子学热光子学对于热电转换、非接触热管理、热成像和激光制造至关重要，这些领域非常需要动态可调的热发射或吸收，并具有良好的可控性和多功能性。我们的目标是采用金属氧化物半导体（MOS）纳米结构，通过电调谐实现辐射传热的显着调制，热通量超过远场黑体极限。该项目的成功最终将带来可调谐热电转换、热控制、热光子装置热电路的新颖应用。研究成果将通过期刊出版物、会议报告和课程教学迅速传播。 PI 将培训下一代劳动力，重点是让女性和少数族裔学生等代表性不足的群体更广泛地参与。研究生将学习多个学科的基础知识，这将为他们解决工程界未来的能源挑战做好充分准备。亚利桑那州立大学和亚利桑那大学的本科研究项目为本科生参与 PI 实验室的研究活动提供了绝佳的机会。 PI 将通过亚利桑那州立大学和亚利桑那大学的各种外展项目吸引当地 K-12 学生，旨在激发他们对 STEM 的兴趣。 众所周知，平面 MOS 结构的电容随栅极电压的变化而变化，从而导致半导体内自由电荷载流子的耗尽或积累，但这种情况仅发生在非常靠近氧化物界面的超薄有源区域中，约为德拜长度约 10 nm。由于平面半导体的红外穿透深度为微米量级，如此超薄的有源区内的吸收变化几乎不会在整个结构内引起明显的调制吸收/发射。所提出的近场 MOS 纳米结构将通过利用具有环绕式超薄金属电极和氧化物栅极层以及近场效应的鳍式场效应晶体管来克服这一挑战。直径约为几十纳米的半导体纳米结构的载流子浓度会随着电选通时的耗尽或积累而发生显着变化。纳米结构层的急剧变化的介电功能将导致电调制的近场辐射传热。通过将 MOS 纳米结构放置在具有纳米间隙距离的发射表面附近，可以发生耦合倏逝波的近场效应，从而增强辐射能量，显着超过远场黑体极限。拟议的研究项目将结合理论和实验任务进行，包括设计和理论建模、样品制造和表征、近场测量和计量开发以及验证和优化。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。