Integrated thermal management in a multispectral camouflage metasurface for laser, infrared, and microwave bands

Read full text
Authors: chengyun zhang, HanChangxu Han, Botao Zhang, Tuao Zhang, Ruobin Zhang, Shenyou Zhao, Qingyan Han, wei gao, xuewen yan, Jun Dong, mingdi zhang
Cited by: 1
References: 52

Abstract

Achieving multispectral camouflage compatible across laser, infrared (IR), and microwave bands is a pivotal challenge for advanced optoelectronic systems, yet its development has been fundamentally hindered by a longstanding paradox: severe heat accumulation caused by essential electromagnetic absorption inevitably compromises infrared stealth. Current strategies often suffer from performance trade-offs or structural complexity. Here, we propose and numerically demonstrate a hierarchical metasurface that resolves this conflict via a mechanism-decoupling strategy, enabling synergistic laser-IR-microwave stealth with built-in thermal management. The upper laser-IR layer employs coupled plasmonic resonances to achieve >0.99 absorption at 1.064 μm, maintain low emissivity (0.8) in the 5-8 μm non-atmospheric window for radiative cooling. The lower radar layer incorporates genetically-optimized, polarization-insensitive Pancharatnam-Berry phase coding elements, delivering >10 dB monostatic radar cross-section reduction from 12 to 20 GHz. Full-wave simulations confirm that this integrated design effectively tackles the "absorption-heating" paradox endemic to conventional stealth materials. The microwave stealth performance is experimentally validated using fabricated prototypes. This work provides a scalable platform to overcome the thermal management bottleneck in multispectral camouflage and offers new insights into the design of integrated photonic devices requiring multifunctional electromagnetic and thermal control.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research

Publication details

Journal / source
Optics Express
Publisher
Optica Publishing Group
Volume
34
Issue
3
Pages
5603–5603
Publication date
28 January 2026
Language
EN