A method and structure for heat transport, cooling, sensing and
power generation is described. A photonic bandgap structure (3) is
employed to enhance emissive heat transport from heat sources such
as integrated circuits (2) to heat spreaders (4). The photonic
bandgap structure (3) is also employed to convert heat to electric
power by enhanced emission absorption and to cool and sense
radiation, such as infra-red radiation. These concepts may be
applied to both heat loss and heat absorption, and may be applied
to heat transport and absorption enhancement in a single
device.