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Chen Z Y, Liu H T, Wu X H, et al. Progress in the research of directed thermal radiation[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2024, 51(9): 240128. doi: 10.12086/oee.2024.240128
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Progress in the research of directed thermal radiation
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Abstract
Thermal radiation is a fundamental physical process that refers to the spontaneous emission of electromagnetic energy from objects with temperatures above absolute zero due to the thermal motion of particles. Most thermal radiators lack directionality, resulting in energy loss in unnecessary directions, which reduces the efficiency of many thermal devices and applications. In practical applications, thermal radiators are usually required to exhibit different thermal radiation capabilities in different directions, therefore, controlling the directionality of the thermal emission is crucial in efficient heat transfer. The study of directional thermal radiation is of great significance in thermal imaging and sensing, radiative cooling, infrared encryption, and energy utilization. The review first describes the difference between traditional and directional thermal radiation, as well as the potential value of the latter at the frontiers of science. Subsequently, based on the characteristics of thermal radiation, it systematically organizes the research progress of domestic and foreign scholars in directional thermal radiation in terms of both narrowband directional thermal radiation and broadband directional thermal radiation. Finally, future research trends in this field are envisioned, and major challenges are analyzed, aiming to provide theoretical guidance and practical insights for the further development of directional thermal radiation technology. -
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References
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Overview
Thermal radiation is a fundamental physical process that refers to the spontaneous emission of electromagnetic energy from objects with temperatures above absolute zero due to the thermal motion of particles. Most thermal radiators lack directionality, resulting in energy loss in unnecessary directions, which reduces the efficiency of many thermal devices and applications. In practical applications, thermal radiators are usually required to exhibit different thermal radiation capabilities in different directions, therefore, controlling the directionality of the thermal emission is crucial in efficient heat transfer. The study of directional thermal radiation is of great significance in thermal imaging and sensing, radiative cooling, infrared encryption, and energy utilization. In this context, we classify directional thermal radiation modulation into two categories, broadband and narrowband, and summarize the relevant studies in recent years. The earliest proposed directional modulation was based on grating structures, which realized narrowband modulation. Based on this research, non-reciprocal narrowband directional modulation based on grating structure and narrowband directional modulation based on multilayer film structure were further developed. Due to the theoretical broadband nature of thermal radiation, it is of great significance to realize broadband directional thermal radiation. Broadband directional thermal radiation was first designed through gradient ENZ materials, based on which some researchers have proposed to realize non-reciprocal broadband directional thermal radiation using magnetic gradient ENZ materials. In addition, there are studies on broadband directional thermal radiation based on other materials. Finally, we summarize and analyze the possible future directions and main challenges.
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Chen Z Y, Liu H T, Wu X H, et al. Progress in the research of directed thermal radiation[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2024, 51(9): 240128. doi: 10.12086/oee.2024.240128
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Figure 1.
Reciprocal directional thermal radiation design based on micro- and nano-structures. (a) First directional thermal radiation structure based on SiC grating; (b) Emissivity of SiC grating at p-polarization for different wavelengths and angles of incidence [20]; (c) Directional heat radiation devices consisting of equally spaced concentric circular grooves on a W or Mo metal surface [21]; (d) Directional and frequency-selective thermal emission using Au-SiN-Au metasurface [14]; (e) Thermal emission of phonons controlled by magnetic resonance modes based on Ag/SiO2/Al-based metasurface [22]; (f) Control of thermal emission via a metasurface of Al/SiN/Al nanosandwich photoabsorber using modulation of parity-symmetric Fano resonance [23]
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Figure 2.
Reciprocal directional thermal radiation design based on multilayer membrane structure. (a) Small-angle directional thermal radiation modulation achieved by a MQW layer and a two-dimensional photonic crystal (2D PC) with a lattice constant of 6.5 mm [24]; (b) A directional thermal emitter consisting of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PC) film, a dielectric spacer layer and a continuous metal film [25]; (c) Narrowband radiation directional modulation by separating an Au layer from a 2D material graphene by a dielectric spacer layer [27];(d) Directional thermal radiation modulation by photonic crystals designed with thermal emitters and angle selectors, respectively; (e) Demonstration of the emissivity of a directional narrow-band thermal emitter by the combination of an angle selector with 20 and 70 layers, respectively, and a thermal emitter [26]
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Figure 3.
Design of non-reciprocal directional thermal radiation based on micro-nanostructures. (a) Schematic of single- and multi-channel non-reciprocal emitters; (b) Schematic of unidirectional nonreciprocal thermal emission from SiC grating; (c) Design optimization of SiC grating in the SPhP region with respect to wavelength and emission angle and emissivity [35]; (d) Schematic of a nonreciprocal multiport emitter and the corresponding angular distributions of emissivity and absorptivity [36]; (e) Schematic of a variable gate structure prepared from Au/Ge/ZnS/Au to realize an asymmetric directional thermal emission structure [37]
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Figure 4.
Realization of broadband directional thermal radiation modulation based on ENZ material. (a) ENZ material consisting of doped CdO and SiO2 with Au substrate realizes narrowband directional thermal radiation modulation [44]; (b) Broadband directional thermal radiation modulation was achieved in the 7-12 μm and 10-14 μm wavelengths by separately designed gradient ENZ materials [45]; (c) A dielectric gap (Ge) is used to connect and combine two gradient ENZ materials with different wavelengths to realize broadband directional thermal emission modulation covering the full long-wave infrared (LWIR) range [46]; (d) Gradient ENZ metamaterials made of high-temperature-resistant oxides MgO, BZHO, and NiO, demonstrating the temperature insensitivity of broadband directional thermal emission modulation [47]; (e) Comparative emissivity plots of this gradient ENZ metamaterials at different temperatures (25 ℃ and 1000 ℃) [47]
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Figure 5.
Realization of broadband directional thermal radiation modulation based on ENZ materials. (a) Gradient ENZ was characterized by growing InAs with different doping concentrations to achieve dynamic modulation of directional broadband thermal radiation [48]; (b) Transparent directional broadband thermal radiation structure based on Al2O3/Si3N4/ITO material designed for vertical surface radiative cooling [49]
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Figure 6.
(a) Directional broadband thermal radiation modulation by designing photonic crystals as thermal emitter and angle selector, respectively [26]; (b) Structure consisting of a Si3N4 thermal emitter and a top transmission filter composed of BaF2 and LiF for directional broadband thermal radiation [50]; (c) Schematic of an ultra-broadband directional thermal radiation structure matched to an atmospheric window, with the system consisting of a thin dielectric film on a radiating substrate; (d) Structure consisting of a flexible PEI substrate and a Ge film layer for direction-specific broadband thermal radiation modulation [51]; (e) Structure consisting of alternating three-phase metamaterials, including an array of ellipsoidal core-shell structures and a cylindrical array of PMMA covered with an ITO conformal coating, for realizing ultra-broadband directional thermal radiation [52]; (f) Thermal radiation modulation for high directivity and broadband characteristics based on a PDME structure consisting of SU-8 photoresist substrate, polymer structure, and silver reflective layer [53]
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Figure 7.
Directed broadband non-reciprocal thermal radiation modulation. (a) Gradient magnetized ENZ multilayers composed of InAs films with different doping concentrations are utilized for non-reciprocal thermal radiation modulation [66]; (b) Variation of emissivity and absorptivity of nonreciprocal emitters of single-layer magneto-optical materials in the presence of different external magnetic fields; (c) A structure consisting of a magnetic Wely metal (MWS) layer with a chemical potential gradient above Au enables directional broadband non-reciprocal thermal emission in the absence of an external magnetic field [67]; (d) A structure consisting of two WSM layers with different Fermi energy levels and a dielectric film placed alternately on the Au reflector, which enables directional broadband nonreciprocal thermal emission in the absence of an external magnetic field [68]
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