Mid-infrared adaptive thermal camouflage using a phase-change material coupled dielectric nanoantenna

Recently, camouflage technology has attracted researchers' attention in a large variety of thermal applications. As a special phase change material (PCM), vanadium dioxide (VO2) is an excellent candidate for the studies conducted on thermal camouflage technology. VO2 has a transition from the insulator phase to the metal phase with the increase of the temperature. With regards to this unique feature, VO2 can contribute dynamic properties to the camouflage design. In this paper, a PCM-dielectric based metamaterial mid-infrared adaptive thermal camouflage nanoantenna is designed to perfectly mimic the atmospheric windows. The adaptive property of the proposed structure is obtained by using an ultrathin VO2 interlayer embedded within the grating. The spectral responses of the structure are computed using the finite difference time domain method, and the invisibility of the structure is proved using power calculations in the different mid-infrared regions.

Automated summary

Research on using vanadium dioxide as a phase change material for thermal camouflage technology has led to the design of an adaptive thermal camouflage nanoantenna. The adaptive property of the structure is achieved by embedding an ultrathin VO2 layer within the grating, demonstrating invisibility through power calculations in different mid-infrared regions.