  The properties of thermal radiation exchange between hot and cold objects can
be strongly modified if they interact in the near field where electromagnetic
coupling occurs across gaps narrower than the dominant wavelength of thermal
radiation. Using a rigorous fluctuational electrodynamics approach, we predict
that ultra-thin films of plasmonic materials can be used to dramatically
enhance near-field heat transfer. The total spectrally integrated film-to-film
heat transfer is over an order of magnitude larger than between the same
materials in bulk form and also exceeds the levels achievable with polar
dielectrics such as SiC. We attribute this enhancement to the significant
spectral broadening of radiative heat transfer due to coupling between surface
plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on both sides of each thin film. We show that the
radiative heat flux spectrum can be further shaped by the choice of the
substrate onto which the thin film is deposited. In particular, substrates
supporting surface phonon polaritons (SPhP) strongly modify the heat flux
spectrum owing to the interactions between SPPs on thin films and SPhPs of the
substrate. The use of thin film phase change materials on polar dielectric
substrates allows for dynamic switching of the heat flux spectrum between
SPP-mediated and SPhP-mediated peaks.
