PAIR Conference 2023

Prof. Tarik Bourouina has obtained his Ph.D. in 1991 and his Habilitation (HDR) in 2000 from Université Paris-Saclay. He has been Professor of Physics at ESIEE Paris, Université Gustave Eiffel since 2002. He is also affiliated to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), within the CINTRA laboratory IRL 3288 in Singapore jointly with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and THALES, and within the ESYCOM laboratory UMR9007 in France. Before joining back ESIEE in 2002, Dr. Bourouina took several positions in France and in Japan; at Université Paris-Saclay (1995-1998) as Associate Professor in IEF Lab (CNRS UMR 8622), at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and at The University of Tokyo (1998-2001) as Senior Researcher in LIMMS Lab (CNRS UMI 2820). He also used to serve as the Director of the ESIEE-NTU Singapore Dual-Degree Master of Engineering (2003-2006). In 2017, he was the recipient of the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s Fellowship. Dr. Bourouina has many contributions in the development of several companies launched by his former students and colleagues, which include Si-Ware Systems, Fluidion, Memscap, MEMS-Schlumberger and Izonics. Among his contributions to the international scientific community, Dr. Bourouina serves as an Editor in two journals of Nature Research: ‘Light: Science and Applications’ and ‘Microsystems and Nanoengineering’. He also serves as Associate Editor in "Advanced Devices and Instrumentation" -a Science-Partner Journal. His current interest includes micro-scale photonic and fluidic devices and the related physics as well as their applications to sustainable development.

Topic: "Radiative properties of Black Silicon revisited in the Mid-infrared and applications"

^Abstract 

Black Silicon (B-Si) is among the most popular nanostructured surfaces. Its name is due to its appearance to the bare eye, and it is known to absorb light mainly in the visible wavelength range, up to nearly 1.1 µm, owing to band-gap absorption combined with its particular morphology.

In this presentation, we revisit Black Silicon by investigating its properties in the wavelength range extending from 0.2 µm to 25 µm with a focus on the Mid-Infra-Red (MIR). We elucidate the synergetic effects of morphology and volume doping; and more specifically, how the high aspect-ratio of conical nanostructures plays a crucial role in extending and tailoring the spectral range over the mid-infrared. Unprecedented light absorptance levels are obtained with up to 99.5 % in the spectral range from 1 µm to 8 µm and above 90% until wavelength of 20 µm. The experimental findings are analyzed with supporting simulations.

Then, we explore applications dealing with the availability of fresh water resources taking advantage of the high absorptivity of Black Silicon, as well as its high emissivity, thanks to the Kirchhoff’s law for thermal radiation. We will introduce opto-fluidic metasurfaces based on Black Silicon, specifically designed for harvesting water from air, thanks to a combination of their radiative cooling capabilities and tailored wetting properties. Another class of meta-surfaces based on Black Silicon are hierarchical 2D meta-foams, which were developed and specifically designed for optimal water desalination.