Thermal circuits

工业中使用的能源中有60%以上是作为低品位废热（温度低于200ºC）损失的。由于有限的能源资源和全球变暖问题，热流管理因此成为非常重要的挑战。不幸的是，很少有热力学循环可以有效地使用这些低温流。在过去的几十年里，人们发现在热物体的表面存在着很强的能量密度。这种能量来自于热物体表面周围原子的热搅动产生的瞬逝电磁场的存在。如今，收集、储存、运输和转换这种能源是一个具有挑战性的问题。这些不同的步骤需要开发一种技术来操纵非辐射热光子。如果通过二极管，晶体管和其他基本电子构件的电子通过允许控制固体中的电子流而使我们当前生活中的革命成为可能，那么没有电路的热对应物能够操纵通过热光子在热物体之间交换的热通量。我们建议构思和开发电子元件的热等效物，这些元件在过去的世纪中彻底改变了电子传输。我的研究计划的长期目标是对热进行同样的控制，已经证明了对电流的控制-打开和关闭它的能力，调制它，甚至放大它。为了实现这个长期目标，这个五年计划的范围包括两个研究课题：1）许多身体系统中近场热交换的基础物理; 2）在纳米级管理热光子的基本构建块。 该方法将包括理论和实验研究相结合，以调查和理解基本物理，沿着分析和数值建模。从这个角度来看，微纳米纤维工艺和原型也将被开发，以及高分辨率的时空热成像设置。 该计划的主要影响将是通过在纳米物理，材料科学，机械工程和电气工程的多学科领域的HQP的培训。主要成果将是对纳米级辐射传热的深入理解，以及为下一代热管理电路的重要构建模块的设计和制造建立知识基础。这项研究的科学和社会影响范围从更高效的便携式电子产品（平板电脑，智能手机）到能量收集系统

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