Nanoplasmon-enabled macroscopic thermal management

Abstract: In numerous applications of energy harvesting via transformation of light into heat the focus recently shifted towards highly absorptive materials featuring nanoplasmons. It is currently established that noble metals-based absorptive plasmonic platforms deliver significant light-capturing capability and can be viewed as super-absorbers of optical radiation. However, direct experimental evidence of plasmon-enabled macroscopic temperature increase that would result from these efficient absorptive properties is scarce. Here we derive a general quantitative method of characterizing light-capturing properties of a given heat-generating absorptive layer by macroscopic thermal imaging. We further monitor macroscopic areas that are homogeneously heated by several degrees with plasmon nanostructures that occupy a mere 8% of the surface, leaving it essentially transparent and evidencing significant heat generation capability of nanoplasmon-enabled light capture. This has a direct bearing to thermophotovoltaics and other applications where thermal management is crucial.