Abstract:
Thermal emission (thermal radiation) is the phenomenon responsible for most of the light in the universe. Though understanding of thermal emission dates back over a century, recent advances have encouraged the re-examination of this phenomenon and its applications. This talk will describe our group’s advances and outline future work in the measurement and manipulation of thermal emission. First, I will discuss our efforts to improve thermal-emission metrology, especially for low-temperature thermal emitters and/or those with temperature-dependent emissivity. Then, I will describe our use of phase-transition materials including vanadium dioxide and the rare-earth nickelates to demonstrate new phenomena, including negative- and zero-differential thermal emittance, radiative thermal runaway, and thermo-dichroism. I will also discuss our recent demonstration of nanosecond-scale emissivity modulation. The talk will include discussion of exciting opportunities of thermal-emission engineering for infrared camouflage and thermoregulation.
 
Bio:
Mikhail Kats is an Associate Professor and Dugald C. Jackson Faculty Scholar at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, with affiliate appointments in the Departments of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering. Mikhail’s research interests include optical properties of engineered materials, novel optical and optoelectronic devices, tailoring of thermal emission and radiative heat transfer, enhancement of human vision, and related topics in optics and photonics. Prior to joining UW-Madison, He received his BS in Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2008, and his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2014. His awards include the ONR Young Investigator Award, the AFOSR Young Investigator Award, and the NSF CAREER award, and selections to the Forbes “30 Under 30” and ASEE Prism’s “20 Under 40” lists.