Design of a gradient epsilon-near-zero refractory metamaterial with temperature-insensitive broadband directional emission

Abstract

Gradient epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials offer broadband directional control over thermal emission. Implementing this approach using materials that remain stable in harsh thermo-chemical environments would allow it to be broadly deployed in thermal photonics. Our prior work showed that heterostructures of rock salt MgO and perovskite BaZr0.5Hf0.5O3 (BZHO) are stable up to 1100 °C in air, with no discernible intermixing. In this work, we design a gradient ENZ metamaterial made from three lattice-matched refractory oxides: MgO, BZHO, and NiO. The miscibility of MgO and NiO makes it possible to linearly vary the ENZ frequency of the metamaterial layers. BZHO is used as a thin, interlayer diffusion barrier. We model the emissivity of our gradient ENZ metamaterial at 25 and 1000 °C to demonstrate that the spectral bandwidth of directional emission is preserved at high temperatures despite changes in the optical properties of each material. Finally, we discuss practical fabrication challenges associated with the back reflector and offer potential solutions based on advancements in hetero-integration. Overall, this work shows a pathway toward gradient ENZ metamaterials with ultrahigh-temperature stability.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Nov 07, 2022
Source ID
10.1063/5.0122535

Entities

People

  • Andrej Lenert
  • Sean McSherry

Organizations

  • National Science Foundation
  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of Michigan

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Materials Science.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene