Phase-change radiative thermal diode

TL;DR

This paper introduces a radiative thermal diode that uses phase transitions of materials to achieve high heat rectification, with potential applications in contactless thermal circuits and radiative coatings.

Contribution

It presents a novel radiative thermal diode leveraging phase transitions to achieve high rectification coefficients, surpassing previous designs.

Findings

Rectification coefficients greater than 70% and up to 90%.

Effective even for small temperature differences.

Potential applications in thermal management and contactless circuits.

Abstract

A thermal diode transports heat mainly in one preferential direction rather than in the opposite direction. This behavior is generally due to the non-linear dependence of certain physical properties with respect to the temperature. Here we introduce a radiative thermal diode which rectifies heat transport thanks to the phase transitions of materials. Rectification coefficients greater than 70% and up to 90% are shown, even for small temperature differences. This result could have important applications in the development of futur contactless thermal circuits or in the conception of radiative coatings for thermal management.