Spatiotemporal Diffusion Metamaterials: Theories and Applications

TL;DR

This paper reviews the fundamental theories and practical designs of spatiotemporal diffusion metamaterials, highlighting their potential for dynamic control of energy and mass transfer, with applications in thermal coding and programmable diffusion.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of spatiotemporal diffusion metamaterials, emphasizing their ability to achieve nonreciprocal, topological, and tunable properties beyond static structures.

Findings

Spatiotemporal modulation enables dynamic manipulation of diffusion processes.

Applications include real-time thermal coding and programmable diffusion.

Current research is mainly at macroscopic scales, with potential for microscale and other domains.

Abstract

Diffusion metamaterials with artificial spatial structures have significant potential in controlling energy and mass transfer. Those static structures may lead to functionality and tunability constraints, impeding the application scope of diffusion metamaterials. Dynamic structures, adding the temporal dimension, have recently provided a new possibility for electric charge and heat diffusion regulation. This perspective introduces the fundamental theories and practical constructions of spatiotemporal diffusion metamaterials for achieving nonreciprocal, topological, or tunable properties. Compared with traditional static design, spatiotemporal modulation is promising to manipulate diffusion processes dynamically, with applications of real-time thermal coding and programming. Existing spatiotemporal diffusion explorations are primarily at macroscopic systems, and we may envision extending these results to microscale and other physical domains like thermal radiation and mass diffusion shortly.