ABSTRACT
Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) media have been very actively investigated due to their unconventional wave phenomena and strengthened nonlinear response. However, the technological impact of ENZ media will be determined by the quality of realistic ENZ materials, including material loss and surface roughness. Here, we provide a comprehensive experimental study of the impact of surface roughness on ENZ substrates. Using silicon carbide (SiC) substrates with artificially induced roughness, we analyze samples whose roughness ranges from a few to hundreds of nanometer size scales. It is concluded that ENZ substrates with roughness in the few nanometer scale are negatively affected by coupling to longitudinal phonons and strong ENZ fields normal to the surface. On the other hand, when the roughness is in the hundreds of nanometers scale, the ENZ band is found to be more robust than dielectric and surface phonon polariton (SPhP) bands.
ABSTRACT
Radiative thermal engineering with subwavelength metallic bodies is a key element for heat and energy management applications, communication and sensing. Here, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate metallic thermal emitters with narrowband but extremely stable emission spectra, whose resonant frequency does not shift with changes on the nanofilm thickness, the angle of observation and/or polarization. Our devices are based on epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) substrates acting as material-based high-impedance substrates. They do not require from complex nanofabrication processes, thus being compatible with large-area and low-cost applications.
