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
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Recent Publications
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 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