Bayesian-optimized multiband metamaterial emitter for infrared camouflage and passive thermal management

Abstract Spectrally selective thermal emission is essential for infrared camouflage, since it suppresses radiative signatures in the atmospheric detection window while preserving heat dissipation through non-detection bands. This study presents a Bayesian-optimized molecularly assisted metal-dielectric-metal metamaterial emitter for long-wave infrared camouflage and passive thermal management. The Al/polyimide/Al architecture was optimized to minimize emissivity in the 8-14 µm atmospheric window and to enhance emission in the 5-8 and 14-20 µm bands. At 350 K, the optimized emitter exhibited a low emissivity of 0.039 in the 8-14 µm band, compared with 0.384 and 0.386 in the 5-8 and 14-20 µm bands, respectively. Electromagnetic field analysis showed that the multiband response originated from the coupling between metal-dielectric-metal magnetic resonances and polyimide molecular vibrations. Radiative-power, apparenttemperature, and lock-on range analyses further confirmed effective long-waveinfrared signature suppression relative to a blackbody reference.