A dual-responsive tunable emitter for high-performance thermal camouflage

Abstract

The precise manipulation of thermal radiation in adaptive infrared thermal camouflage has emerged as a notable challenge, attracting widespread attention in both commercial and military applications. Here, we report a high-performance, dual-responsive device based on a VO₂/SiO₂/ITO multilayer structure for thermal camouflage. This device exhibits a maximum modulation capability of 0.61 in thermal emittance, with robust stability over 3000 cycles. Theoretical simulations reveal that its exceptional infrared emittance regulation originates from the Fabry–Pérot resonance within the VO₂/SiO₂/ITO configuration. Battery thermal-camouflage experiments validate flexible infrared camouflage performance of the device under thermal-, electric-, and integrated-responsive modes. This dual-responsive design demonstrates promising potential in artificial infrared camouflage, thermal cloaking, and advanced thermo-optical systems.