Spatial and spectral distributions of thermal radiation emitted by a semi-infinite body and absorbed by a flat film

Abstract

We analyze the radiative power emitted by a semi-infinite medium and absorbed by a flat film located in its vicinity. In the near-field regime, if the film is thin enough, the surface waves at the rear interface of the film can contribute to the heat transfer. As a result, the absorbed power can be enhanced farther from the front surface. In the near-to-far field transition regime, temporal coherence of thermal radiation and the associated interferences can be used to shape the spectrum of the transferred radiative heat flux by selecting approriate geometrical parameters. These results highlight possibilities to control both the location where the radiative power is absorbed in the film and the spectral distribution, which are of paramount importance for applications such as near-field thermophotovoltaics.