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Published on: July 18, 2015
Ultrabroadband photonic structures to achieve high-performance daytime radiative cooling
Eden Rephaeli1, Aaswath Raman, Shanhui Fan
1Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States. edenr@stanford.edu
Abstract:
If properly designed, terrestrial structures can passively cool themselves through radiative emission of heat to outer space. For the first time, we present a metal-dielectric photonic structure capable of radiative cooling in daytime outdoor conditions. The structure behaves as a broadband mirror for solar light, while simultaneously emitting strongly in the mid-IR within the atmospheric transparency window, achieving a net cooling power in excess of 100 W/m(2) at ambient temperature. This cooling persists in the presence of significant convective/conductive heat exchange and nonideal atmospheric conditions.