Ultrahigh Thermal Rectification at Small Temperature Difference Achieved by Near-Field Thermal Photon Manipulation

Thermal diodes, which allow heat to flow in a preferential direction, are an essential component of thermal circuitry and will find applications in many fields ranging from thermal photon controls to quantum information. The quality of a thermal diode is defined by the thermal rectification ratio (TRR). Here, an ultrahigh TRR exceeding 105 at a small temperature difference (1-5 K) is presented based on near-field thermal photon (NFTP) manipulation, by utilizing asymmetric gap-variated dual terminals based on graphene/Si heterostructures and materials with contrasting thermal expansion coefficients. Analyses of the photon tunneling probability show that the colossal TRR comes from coupled and decoupled graphene surface plasmon polaritons under opposite temperature biases, remaining robust across a wide operating temperature range. Further enhancement can be achieved by tuning the Fermi level of graphene. This work demonstrates the significance of asymmetry in NFTP manipulation for thermal diode performance, achieving an ultrahigh TRR, which is at least three orders higher than the state-of-the-art structures at the same small temperature difference (1-5 K), and is comparable to state-of-the-art electronic diodes. An ultrahigh thermal rectification ratio exceeding 105 at a small temperature difference (such as 5 K) is presented based on near-field thermal photon manipulation, by utilizing asymmetric gap-variated dual terminals based on graphene/Si heterostructures and materials with contrasting thermal expansion coefficients. The coupling and decoupling of graphene surface plasmon polaritons enable this colossal heat flux contrast, surpassing state-of-the-art passive thermal diodes. image