Plasmonic thermal IR emitters based on nanoamorphous carbon

The development of plasmonic narrow-band thermal mid-IR emitters made from a conducting amorphous carbon composite is shown. These IR emitters have greatly improved thermal and mechanical stability compared to metallic emitters as they can be operated at 600 degrees C in air without any degradation in performance. The emitted thermal radiation has a bandwidth of 0.5 mu m and can be set to the desired wavelength from 3 to 15 mu m by changing the surface periodicity. The periodically patterned devices have in-band emissivities significantly exceeding that of the non-patterned devices, constituting simple yet efficient radiation sources at this important wavelength range.