Infrared Thermophotonics: Theoretical Benchmarking of Ni–Al Superalloys

Abstract

Ni–Al intermetallic compounds are highly stable, heat-resistant superalloys that have been studied as possible materials for automotive and aerospace applications. However, no reports of their thermophotonic applications, such as high-temperature IR emitters, have been reported. Herein, an integrated approach that combines a theoretical investigation of the optical properties of Ni–Al compounds with an optimized geometrical microdevice design is reported. Benchmarking of the optical properties and device performance revealed that NiAl exhibited the best optical properties among the surveyed families of Ni–Al intermetallic compounds, comparable to those of conventional plasmonic materials in the IR region. Additionally, the NiAl-based microdevices exhibited an excellent quality of 692, making them promising high-temperature plasmonic superalloys for IR thermophotonic applications. In addition, the experimental dielectric function in the IR region was consistent with the simulated value. Simultaneously, various designs of plasmonic metamaterial structures are modeled successfully based on NiAl, demonstrating the good performance of this material as a perfect spectroscopic absorber and emitter operating in the IR region.