Multiband metamaterial emitters for infrared and laser compatible stealth with thermal management based on dissipative dielectrics

Abstract

The modulation of thermal radiation in the infrared region is a highly anticipated method to achieve infrared sensing and camouflage. Here, a multiband metamaterial emitter based on the Al / SiO 2 / Al nanosandwich structure is proposed to provide new ideas for effective infrared and laser-compatible camouflage. By virtue of the intrinsic absorption and magnetic resonance property of lossy materials, the thermal radiation in the infrared region can be rationally modulated. The fabricated samples generally present low emissivity ( ε 3 – 5 μm = 0.21 , ε 8 – 14 μm = 0.19 ) in the atmospheric windows to evade infrared detection as well as high emissivity ( ε 5 – 8 μm = 0.43 ) in the undetected band for energy dissipation. Additionally, the laser camouflage is also realized by introducing a strong absorption at 10.6 μm through the nonlocalized plasmon resonance of the SiO 2 layer. Moreover, the fabricated emitter shows promising prospects in thermal management due to the good radiative cooling property that is comparable to the metallic Al material. This work demonstrates a multiband emitter based on the metasurface structure with compatible infrared-laser camouflage as well as radiative cooling properties, which is expected to pave new routes for the design of thermal radiation devices.

Multiresonant Selective Emitter with Enhanced Thermal Management for Infrared Camouflage

“…These additional considerations have made it challenging to apply the temperature-control method for IR camouflage. By contrast, controlling the emissivity of the surface is a more practical and cost-efficient approach because it can be implemented by coating the material on the object. − …”

“…In addition, MDM selective emitters have several other advantages that make them promising materials for many applications. For example, the flexibility of an MDM selective emitter can be ensured by the discrete structure of the top metal and the middle dielectric layer through patterning, and it can be made conformable to highly curved surfaces. , Additionally, the MDM selective emitter can be made compatible with multispectral camouflage by patterning the bottom metal layer as a microwave band-pass filter and attaching it to a radar-absorbing material. , These versatilities have made the MDM selective emitter a promising material for various practical applications, including camouflage, − thermophotovoltaic systems, , and radiative cooling. − …”

Fabrication of Selective Thermal Emitter with Multilayer Films for Mid-/Low-Temperature Infrared Stealth with Radiative Cooling

“…To solve this problem, a selective thermal radiation scheme is Photonics 2023, 10, 645 2 of 11 demonstrated for infrared stealth [15]. The selective emitter requires low emissivity in the atmospheric band (3-5 µm and 8-14 µm) to evade detection while increasing thermal radiance in the undetected band (5-8 µm) for energy dissipation [16][17][18]. Based on this principle, various selective emitters with functional micro/nanostructures, such as multilayer films, photonics crystals, gratings and metamaterials, are demonstrated for infrared camouflage applications [19][20][21].…”