Graphene surface plasmons mediated thermal radiation

Abstract

A graphene nanostructure can simultaneously serve as a plasmonic optical resonator and a thermal emitter when thermally heated up. The unique electronic and optical properties of graphene have rendered tremendous potential in the active manipulation of light and the microscopic energy transport in nanostructures. Here we show that the thermally pumped surface plasmonic modes along graphene nanoribbons could dramatically modulate their thermal emission spectra in both near- and far-fields. Based on the fluctuating surface current method implemented by the resistive boundary method, we directly calculate the thermal emission spectrum from single graphene ribbons and vertically paired graphene ribbons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that both the near- and far-field thermal emission from graphene nanostructures can be optimized by tuning the chemical potential of doped graphene. The general guideline to maximize the thermal emission is illustrated by the our recently developed theory on resonant thermal emitters modulated by quasi-normal modes.