Near-Field Radiation Calculated With an Improved Dielectric Function Model for Doped Silicon

This paper describes a theoretical investigation of near-field radiative heat transfer between doped silicon surfaces separated by a vacuum gap. An improved dielectric function model for heavily doped silicon is employed. The effects of doping level, polarization, and vacuum gap width on the spectral and total radiative transfer are studied based on the fluctuational electrodynamics. It is observed that increasing the doping concentration does not necessarily enhance the energy transfer in the near-field. The energy streamline method is used to model the lateral shift of the energy pathway, which is the trace of the Poynting vectors in the vacuum gap. The local density of states near the emitter is calculated with and without the receiver. The results from this study can help improve the understanding of near-field radiation for applications such as thermophotovoltaic energy conversion, nanoscale thermal imaging, and nanothermal manufacturing.