Effective-medium model of wire metamaterials in the problems of radiative heat transfer

Abstract

In the present work, we check the applicability of the effective medium model (EMM) to the problems of radiative heat transfer (RHT) through so-called wire metamaterials (WMMs)—composites comprising parallel arrays of metal nanowires. It is explained why this problem is so important for the development of prospective thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems. Previous studies of the applicability of EMM for WMMs were targeted by the imaging applications of WMMs. The analogous study referring to the transfer of radiative heat is a separate problem that deserves extended investigations. We show that WMMs with practically realizable design parameters transmit the radiative heat as effectively homogeneous media. Existing EMM is an adequate tool for qualitative prediction of the magnitude of transferred radiative heat and of its effective frequency band.