Research Summary
Zhu's research involves understanding the fundamentals of how light and heat can be controlled using nanostructured materials, as well as using the knowledge to advance energy efficiency and develop clean energy. His work includes controlling thermal radiation by taking advantage of the strong light-material interaction at the nanoscale. By using nanostructures with feature sizes comparable to the wavelength of this light, various properties of heat and light, such as spectrum, direction, intensity and many others, can be designed and tailored, leading to great opportunities for energy and thermal applications.
In the News
Research Keywords
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Projects
Recent Publications
Concentrated radiative cooling and its constraint from reciprocity
Dong, M., Zhu, L., Jiang, B., Fan, S. & Chen, Z., Jan 3 2022, In: Optics Express. 30, 1, p. 275-285 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nonreciprocal Thermal Photonics for Energy Conversion and Radiative Heat Transfer
Zhang, Z. & Zhu, L., Jul 2022, In: Physical Review Applied. 18, 2, 027001.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Near-field thermophotovoltaics for efficient heat to electricity conversion at high power density
Mittapally, R., Lee, B., Zhu, L., Reihani, A., Lim, J. W., Fan, D., Forrest, S. R., Reddy, P. & Meyhofer, E., Dec 1 2021, In: Nature communications. 12, 1, 4364.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Determining plasmonic hot-carrier energy distributions via single-molecule transport measurements
Reddy, H., Wang, K., Kudyshev, Z., Zhu, L., Yan, S., Vezzoli, A., Higgins, S. J., Gavini, V., Boltasseva, A., Reddy, P., Shalaev, V. M. & Meyhofer, E., Jul 24 2020, In: Science. 369, 6502, p. 423-426 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nanoscale radiative thermal switching via multi-body effects
Thompson, D., Zhu, L., Meyhofer, E. & Reddy, P., Feb 1 2020, In: Nature nanotechnology. 15, 2, p. 99-104 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Simultaneously and Synergistically Harvest Energy from the Sun and Outer Space
Chen, Z., Zhu, L., Li, W. & Fan, S., Jan 16 2019, In: Joule. 3, 1, p. 101-110 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Author Correction: Hundred-fold enhancement in far-field radiative heat transfer over the blackbody limit (Nature, (2018), 561, 7722, (216-221), 10.1038/s41586-018-0480-9)
Thompson, D., Zhu, L., Mittapally, R., Sadat, S., Xing, Z., McArdle, P., Qazilbash, M. M., Reddy, P. & Meyhofer, E., Mar 21 2019, In: Nature. 567, 7748, p. E12Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Near-field photonic cooling through control of the chemical potential of photons
Zhu, L., Fiorino, A., Thompson, D., Mittapally, R., Meyhofer, E. & Reddy, P., Feb 14 2019, In: Nature. 566, 7743, p. 239-244 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A Thermal Diode Based on Nanoscale Thermal Radiation
Fiorino, A., Thompson, D., Zhu, L., Mittapally, R., Biehs, S. A., Bezencenet, O., El-Bondry, N., Bansropun, S., Ben-Abdallah, P., Meyhofer, E. & Reddy, P., Jun 26 2018, In: ACS nano. 12, 6, p. 5174-5179 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Giant Enhancement in Radiative Heat Transfer in Sub-30 nm Gaps of Plane Parallel Surfaces
Fiorino, A., Thompson, D., Zhu, L., Song, B., Reddy, P. & Meyhofer, E., Jun 13 2018, In: Nano letters. 18, 6, p. 3711-3715 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nanogap near-field thermophotovoltaics
Fiorino, A., Zhu, L., Thompson, D., Mittapally, R., Reddy, P. & Meyhofer, E., Sep 1 2018, In: Nature nanotechnology. 13, 9, p. 806-811 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Hundred-fold enhancement in far-field radiative heat transfer over the blackbody limit
Thompson, D., Zhu, L., Mittapally, R., Sadat, S., Xing, Z., McArdle, P., Qazilbash, M. M., Reddy, P. & Meyhofer, E., Sep 13 2018, In: Nature. 561, 7722, p. 216-221 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Theory of many-body radiative heat transfer without the constraint of reciprocity
Zhu, L., Guo, Y. & Fan, S., Mar 7 2018, In: Physical Review B. 97, 9, 094302.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A Comprehensive Photonic Approach for Solar Cell Cooling
Li, W., Shi, Y., Chen, K., Zhu, L. & Fan, S., Apr 19 2017, In: ACS Photonics. 4, 4, p. 774-782 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Universal modal radiation laws for all thermal emitters
Miller, D. A. B., Zhu, L. & Fan, S., Apr 25 2017, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114, 17, p. 4336-4341 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review