Transparent dynamic infrared emissivity regulators

Dynamic infrared emissivity regulators, which can efficiently modulate infrared radiation beyond vision, have emerged as an attractive technology in the energy and information fields. The realization of the independent modulation of visible and infrared spectra is a challenging and important task for the application of dynamic infrared emissivity regulators in the fields of smart thermal management and multispectral camouflage. Here, we demonstrate an electrically controlled infrared emissivity regulator that can achieve independent modulation of the infrared emissivity while maintaining a high visible transparency (84.7% at 400–760 nm). The regulators show high degree of emissivity regulation (0.51 at 3–5 μm, 0.41 at 7.5–13 μm), fast response ( 10 4 cycles). The infrared emissivity regulation is attributed to the modification of the carrier concentration in the surface depletion layer of aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals. This transparent infrared emissivity regulator provides opportunities for applications such as on-demand smart thermal management, multispectral displays, and adaptive camouflage. In this work, authors report a transparent dynamic infrared emissivity modulation mechanism based on reversible injection/extraction of electrons in aluminium-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals and demonstrate it for smart thermal management applications.