Thermal circuits

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Over 60% of energy used in industry is lost as low grade waste heat (temperatures less than 200ºC). Thermal flow management has therefore become a very important challenge due to the limited energy resources and global warming issues. Unfortunately, few thermodynamic cycles can use these low temperature streams effectively. In the very last decades, it has been discovered that a strong density of energy exists at the surface of hot bodies. This energy results from the presence of evanescent electromagnetic field generated by the thermal agitation of atoms around the surface of hot bodies. Harvesting, storing, transporting and converting this energy is today a challenging problem. Those different steps require developing a technology to manipulate the non-radiative thermal photons. If electronic via the diode, the transistor and other basic electronic building blocks have enabled a revolution in our current lives by allowing the control of electronic flow in solids, no thermal counterpart of electric circuits is able to manipulate the heat flux exchanged throughout thermal photons between hot bodies. We propose to conceive and develop thermal equivalent of electronic components that have revolutionized electron transport the past century. The long-term objective of my research program is to exercise the same control over heat that has been already demonstrated over electric current–the ability to switch it on and off, to modulate it and even to amplify it. To achieve this long-term goal the scope of this five years project is composed of two research topics: 1) Fundamental physics of near-field heat exchanges in many body systems; 2) Basic building blocks to manage thermal photons at nanoscale. The methodology will consist in a combination of theoretical and experimental research to investigate and understand the basic physics, along with analytical and numerical modelling. In this perspective, micro-nanofabrication processes and prototypes will also be developed as well as a high resolution spatio-temporal thermal imaging setup. The primary impact of this program will be through the training of HQP in the multidisciplinary fields of nanoscale physics, material science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. The main outcomes will be the deep understanding of nanoscale radiative heat-transfer and an established knowledge base for the design and fabrication of important building blocks for the next generation of thermal management circuits. The scientific and societal impact of this research is ranging from more efficient portable electronic (tablet, smart phone) to energy harvesting systems