Breaking Kirchhoff's Law in Nonlinear Thermal Emission

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Ma, R., Yu, Y., Sun, Y., Yan, H., Wan, W.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Ma, R.
Yu, Y.
Sun, Y.
Yan, H.
Wan, W.
author_facet Ma, R.
Yu, Y.
Sun, Y.
Yan, H.
Wan, W.
contents Thermal radiation is strictly governed by Kirchhoff s law to reach thermal equilibrium. The violation of Kirchhoff s law decouples nonreciprocally the equity between absorptivity and emissivity, enabling exotic thermal engineering applications. However, achieving broadband nonreciprocal thermal emissivity and absorptivity remains a challenge. Here we experimentally demonstrate nonreciprocal and broadband thermal radiation by breaking Kirchhoff s law through nonlinear optical frequency conversion in a scattering medium. Thermal blackbody radiation is upconverted through sum-frequency generation with an intense infrared pump, while broadband conversion is enabled by the critical random quasi-phase-matching condition in the nonlinear nanocrystals. Moreover, a temporal transient measurement also indicates a possible active radiation cooling through such nonlinear thermal radiation. These results may pave a new way for nonlinear and active thermal management in critical applications like radiation cooling, energy harvesting, and infrared camouflage.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_08544
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Breaking Kirchhoff's Law in Nonlinear Thermal Emission
Ma, R.
Yu, Y.
Sun, Y.
Yan, H.
Wan, W.
Optics
Applied Physics
Thermal radiation is strictly governed by Kirchhoff s law to reach thermal equilibrium. The violation of Kirchhoff s law decouples nonreciprocally the equity between absorptivity and emissivity, enabling exotic thermal engineering applications. However, achieving broadband nonreciprocal thermal emissivity and absorptivity remains a challenge. Here we experimentally demonstrate nonreciprocal and broadband thermal radiation by breaking Kirchhoff s law through nonlinear optical frequency conversion in a scattering medium. Thermal blackbody radiation is upconverted through sum-frequency generation with an intense infrared pump, while broadband conversion is enabled by the critical random quasi-phase-matching condition in the nonlinear nanocrystals. Moreover, a temporal transient measurement also indicates a possible active radiation cooling through such nonlinear thermal radiation. These results may pave a new way for nonlinear and active thermal management in critical applications like radiation cooling, energy harvesting, and infrared camouflage.
title Breaking Kirchhoff's Law in Nonlinear Thermal Emission
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08544