Programmable Electrothermal Quad‐Functional Metamaterials for Decoupled Multi‐Field Control
Abstract
ABSTRACT The extension of multifunctional metamaterials to coupled electro‐thermal systems holds the potential for transformative applications in adaptive camouflage, energy transport, and microelectronics. However, strong electron‐phonon interactions and the intrinsic coupling between voltage‐current and temperature‐heat flux fields limit existing designs to one or two functionalities. Here, we report a field‐line‐guided coordinate transformation strategy for constructing an electrothermal quad‐functional metamaterial (ETQFM) capable of simultaneously controlling current, voltage, heat flux, and temperature fields within a single architecture. By mapping prescribed field trajectories into spatially distributed material‐geometry configurations, the transformation decouples electrical and thermal responses, enabling independent realization of cloaking, concentrator, and rotation across both domains. As a proof of concept, six distinct prototypes are fabricated by 3D printing of laser‐sintered metal powders and experimentally validate, each exhibiting four independent functions with high fidelity and agreement with simulations. The strategy also allows functional switching in symmetric architectures by rotating boundary conditions and remains robust against low‐power thermal perturbations, establishing a generalizable framework for multi‐physics field manipulation.
Article Details
Authors (16)
Xianrong Cao
Department of Electronic Engineering and Information Science University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
Yixin Liu
Bing Zhang
Hongda Su
Weiye Xu
Jiachang Li
Yinuo Zhou
Zifeng Tong
Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
Ziang Zhang
Zhenghong Wang
Xunzhou Cheng
School of Materials Science and Engineering University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
Yongle Nian
Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
Yiqin Luo
Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
Liqun He
Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University
Ying Li
Gang Zhao
Department of Systems Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research