Congratulations on the Lab's New Paper Published in Science Advances !

Congratulations on the Lab's New Paper Published in Science Advances !

Researchers from the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences led by Prof. Wei Li have developed an all dielectric longwave transparent low emissivity material (LLM) that breaks the inherent trade off between thermal insulation and longwave signal transmission in conventional low e materials.
In this study, a meter scale LLM is realized with ultra broadband high transmittance spanning nine orders of magnitude from terahertz to kilohertz frequencies, while delivering strong mid infrared reflectance for low emissivity performance. The material achieves up to 41.1% energy savings over commercial white paint and 10.2% savings over traditional low e materials, with stable thermal insulation in both cold and hot environments. The study was published in Science Advances entitled “Longwave transparent low emissivity material”.

In this study, the research team established a photonic design strategy using all dielectric structures to realize longwave transparent low emissivity materials. Instead of metallic reflectors, they used infrared transparent dielectric microparticles (NaCl microparticles sourced from desalination brine waste as proof of concept) that perform strong Mie scattering to boost mid infrared reflectance. The team defined and validated the dual performance targets: high mid infrared reflectance (low emissivity) for thermal insulation and ultra broadband longwave transmittance for unobstructed signal propagation.

The results unlock multifunctional applications that were previously unachievable, including high speed 5G/mmWave communication through thermally efficient building walls, wireless power transfer with thermal insulation, RFID tracking and noninvasive terahertz security screening in cold chain logistics, and stable thermal management for electronics and spacecraft. In addition, the all dielectric, metal free nature enables compatibility with X ray and metal detector systems, supporting safer inspection for radiation sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals and biological samples.
 

Congratulations to Yue Zhang and all co-authors!

Paper link：https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb8872