In the Thermal PhotoniX (TPX) Lab, we are engaged in theoretical and experimental understanding of photonic transport processes for thermal management, energy conversion, and information processing. We are motivated by the grand challenges and opportunities in global warming, renewable energy, and the digital revolution.
We highlight some of our recent research below, including near- and far-field thermal radiation, nanophotonics, electronic circuits, energy harvesting, plasmonics, 2D materials, and numerical design.
Zhao Group @ Oct. 2022
Nonreciprocal Solar Thermophotovoltaics
Nonreciprocal infrared absorption via resonant magneto-optical coupling to InAs
Axion-Field-Enabled Nonreciprocal Thermal Radiation in Weyl Semimetals
Self-Sustaining Thermophotonic Circuits
Strong Plasmonic Coupling Between Graphene Ribbon Array and Metal Gratings
Integrated Near-Field Thermo-Photovoltaics for On-Demand Heat Recycling
Sub-Wavelength Passive Optical Isolators Using Photonic Structures Based on Weyl Semimetals
Enhanced Photon Tunneling by Surface Plasmon-Phonon Polaritons in Graphene/hBN Heterostructures
Experimental Demonstration of Energy Harvesting from The Sky Using The Negative Illumination Effect of a Semiconductor Photodiode
Chemical Potential of Photons and Its Implications For Controlling Radiative Heat Transfer
Near-field Radiative Heat Transfer Between Doped-Si Parallel Plates Separated by a Spacing down to 200 nm
MESH: A Free Electromagnetic Solver for Far-Field and Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer for Layered Periodic Structures
Group News
- 10/03/2024: Dr. Zhao, in collaboration with Dr. Ben Xu and others, is awarded by DOE for solar energy reserach.
- 09/19/2024: Dr. Joshua Caldwell from the Vanderbilt University visits our group.
- 09/17/2024: Dr. Mikhail Kats from the University of Wisconsin-Madison visits our group.
- 09/10/2024: Dr. Zhao visits the Physics Department of University of North Texas. Thanks to the invitation of Dr. Yuzhe Xiao!
- 08/15/2024: Welcome Bardia to the TPX lab! We look forward to working with you Bardia!
- 07/15/2024: Dr. Zhao gives an invited presentation on polaritons for thermal photonics in the 5th International Workshop on Nano-Micro Thermal Radiation (NanoRad 2024), Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
- 07/15/2024: Sina presents his research on controlling the bandwidth and contrast of nonrecprocal thermal emission in Summer Heat Transfer Conference, Anaheim, CA, USA.
- 06/15/2024: Dr. Zhao receives funding from the SEED Program from UH to support the development of nonreciprocal photonic devices.
- 05/10/2024: Our work on broadband nonreciprocal thermal emission is accepted by Light: Science & Applications. Thanks to all the collaborators.
- 04/09/2024: Dr. Zhao gives a talk in the Department of Physics at UH.
- 04/05/2024: Welcome John to the TPX lab!
- 02/22/2024: Dr. Timothy Fisher from University of California, Los Angeles visits our group.
- 02/21/2024: Sina's work is selected as Editor's Pick and is featured by APL. Congratulations!
- 02/12/2024: Sina's work is accepted by APL. Congratulations!
- 02/07/2024: Welcome Ani to the TPX lab!
- 01/25/2024: Dr. Zhao and Sina receive an NSF I-CORPS award to support the commercialization of nonreciprocal solar harvesting technology [Link].
- 07/24/2023: Our paper on direct observation of the violation of Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation is published in Nature Photonics [Link]. Thanks to our collaborators!
- 07/19/2023: Welcome Sahag Bozoyan to the TPX lab!
- 07/10/2023: Sina and Dr. Zhao attend the Summer Heat Transfer Conference, SHTC 2023, in Washington DC, USA. Both of them give presentations.
- 06/21/2023: Dr. Zhao visits McGill University at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and gives a talk on nonreciprocal thermal radiation. Thanks to Prof. Kai Wang for the host!
- 06/15/2023: Dr. Zhao receives the 2023 Elsevier/JQSRT Raymond Viskanta Young Scientist Award, one of the highest honors for faculty early in their careers in the field of radiative transfer [Link].
- 06/12/2023: Dr. Zhao receives an NSF award to study nonreciprocal thermal radiation [Link].
- 06/12/2023: Dr. Zhao attends the 10th International Symposium on Radiative Transfer, RAD-23, in Thessaloniki, Greece.
- 05/31/2023: Sina attends the 14th World Conference on Thermophotovoltaic Generation, and discusses his work on nonreciprocal solar thermophotovoltaics.
- 05/21/2023: Changkang attends the International Conference on Surface Plasmon Photonics (SPP10) at Houston, TX, and finishes his first conference presentation!
- 12/31/2022: Happy new year!
- 11/30/2022: Dr. Zhao is selected as a 50-in-5 scholar of UH. Congratulations!
- 11/24/2022: Nick and Alex receive the 2023 Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Congratulations!
- 11/04/2022: Prof. Zhao gives an invited talk in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Ohio State University. Thanks to Prof. Shang Zhai for hosting!
- 10/31/2022: Prof. Zhao and Changkang attend IMECE International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition at Columbus, OH.
- 10/12/2022: Prof. Zhao visits Prof. Andrea D. Pickel's group at the University of Rochester.
- 10/07/2022: Our work on nonreciprocal solar thermophotovoltaics has been reported by worldwide news media, including Interesting Engineering, PVbuzz Media, eeDesignIt, AZO CleanTech, Mirage News, Innovation News Network, Bioengineer.org, Science Daily, Techi AI, BusinessNews, Houston News, The Science Times, Innovation News Network, List Solar, TechiAzi, Smartech Energy, New Jersy Updates, TechNewsBoy, Engineers Forum, My Crush, Technology Networks, The Brighter Side, Atlantis Rising, Mercom India, Lab Roots, Innovation Toronto, Brightly News, India Education Diary, Innovation Map, Nasdaq, Aljazeera.net, Oilprice.com, BusinessNews, HydrogenFuelNews, List Solar, PV Magazine, Optics.org, and more.
- 10/03/2022: Our work on nonreciprocal solar thermophotovoltaics is featured on UH news. Congratulations to Sina!
- 09/30/2022: Prof. Zhao gives an invited talk in the Department of Chemistry of UH. Thanks to Prof. Naihao Chiang for the invitation!
- 09/29/2022: Sina's paper is selected by the Photovoltaic Energy Conversion collection of Physical Review Applied. Congratulations!
- 09/29/2022: Prof. Ying Sun from University of Cincinnati visits us. Welcome!
- 09/28/2022: Dr. Zhao gives an invited talk at the 13th Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference (ATPC 2022). Thanks to Dr. Atsushi Sakurai for the kind invitation.
- 09/28/2022: Welcome Leena to the TPX lab!
- 09/28/2022: Welcome Alex to the TPX lab!
- 09/27/2022: Welcome Jennifer to the TPX lab!
- 08/26/2022: FTIR and UVVIS are installed and tested.
- 08/23/2022: Sina's first paper is accepted for publication in Physics Review Applied. Congratulations! The first paper of the TPX lab!
- 08/09/2022: Welcome Changkang to the TPX lab!
- 06/23/2022: TPX lab has new UV-VIS!
- 05/06/2022: First experiment to show strong nonreciprocal thermal radiation published in Science Advances. Thanks to Harry Atwater's group at Caltech and Shanhui Fan's group at Stanford.
- 04/12/2022: TPX lab's first patent application filed. Congrats to Sina!
- 04/12/2022: Sina's first manuscript submitted. Congrats!
- 04/05/2022: Dr. Zhao gives an invited talk at SPIE Defense & Commercial Sensing on near-field thermophotonic systems.
- 03/24/2022: Prof. Gururaj Naik visits us from the Rice University. Welcome!
- 02/15/2022: TPX lab has new optical tables and FTIR!
- 01/30/2022: Dr. Zhao attends the seminar on Reflecting on Professor Gang Chen's Case and Looking Ahead to the Future of the China Initiative.
- 12/02/2021: Benjamin and Manal receive the 2022 Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Congratulations!
- 11/30/2021: Dr. Zhao gives an invited talk at 2021 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit.
- 11/11/2021: Welcome Prof. Pramod Reddy to the TPX lab!
- 11/10/2021: Welcome Soumyasis to the group!
- 11/06/2021: Paper on nonreciprocal metasurface is accepted in Physical Review Applied.
- 11/05/2021: Welcome Benjamin to the group!
- 11/05/2021: Welcome Manal to the group!
- 10/26/2021: Dr. Zhao gives an invited talk at the Rice University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Thanks to Prof. Gururaj Naik for the host and invitation!
- 09/17/2021: Welcome Jay to the group!
- 09/01/2021: Welcome Sina to the group!
- 09/01/2021: First day of the Thermal PhotoniX (TPX) Lab!
- 04/22/2021: Dr. Zhao will join the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the U of Houston in Fall 2021.
Archived News
