Passive radiative thermal management using phase-change metasurfaces

Realizing innovative composite materials with passive thermal management capabilities and minimal ecological footprints is a challenging but much sought-after goal that would have a transformative effect on renewable energy sciences. We demonstrate an environmentally friendly metasurface utilizing v...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Leena Singh, Erbin Qiu, Andrew E Cardin, Aiping Chen, Ting S Luk, Jon A Schuller, Diego A R Dalvit, Ivan K Schuller, Wilton J M Kort-Kamp, Abul K Azad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:JPhys Photonics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7647/adc9eb
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Summary:Realizing innovative composite materials with passive thermal management capabilities and minimal ecological footprints is a challenging but much sought-after goal that would have a transformative effect on renewable energy sciences. We demonstrate an environmentally friendly metasurface utilizing vanadium dioxide (VO _2 ) that offers responsiveness to ambient temperature and potentially long-term stability. The metasurface enables passive thermal management by self-adjusting its absorptivity and emissivity response over a broad bandwidth ranging from visible to mid-infrared (IR) wavelengths. Above the VO _2 phase transition the metasurface exhibits increased mid-IR emissivity and reduced visible/near-IR absorptivity, creating an efficient radiative emission channel in the first atmospheric transparency window with reduced absorption of solar radiation. In contrast, below VO _2 ’s transition temperature, the metasurface increasingly absorbs sun light while minimizing mid-IR radiative heat losses. Moreover, a functional silicon layer eliminates the need for an additional capping layer commonly employed to protect VO _2 from environmental degradation. The additional protective layer often impedes the use and performance of VO _2 based devices in terrestrial as well as spacecraft applications. Therefore, the proposed durable and eco-friendly metasurface will be an excellent candidate for essential passive thermal regulation systems across residential and terrestrial applications.
ISSN:2515-7647