Two-dimensional tungsten photonic crystals as selective thermal emitters

This paper presents theory, design, fabrication, and optical characterization of two-dimensional (2D) tungsten (W) photonic crystals (PhC) as selective thermal emitters. We use the photonic band gap of a 2D W PhC, radiating out of a plane of periodicity, to design a selective infrared thermal radiation source that exhibits close to blackbody emittance near the the band gap wavelength and relatively sharp cutoff for wavelengths above the band gap. In addition, we present simple design rules and detailed simulation results for several representative geometries. Microfabrication steps are also presented. Finally, we present detailed experimental results of the optical characterization of three fabricated prototypes that exhibit good agreement with simulation results. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.