Thermal inverter: Negative-thermal-coupling mechanism for ambient-temperature counteraction
Phys. Rev. Applied 24, 064033 – Published 10 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/313m-m7w1
Abstract
Efficient thermal management under fluctuating ambient conditions is crucial, yet most thermal metamaterials exhibit only positive feedback, causing object temperatures to follow environmental variations and limiting adaptive control. Here, we propose a thermal inverter based on a negative-thermal-coupling mechanism, which realizes counteraction of ambient-temperature fluctuations by inducing an inverse correlation between its central temperature and the environment. Both simulations and experiments confirm this counteractive inverse thermal response. Furthermore, we realize an inverse-temperature cloak that maintains an undisturbed background while exhibiting negative thermal coupling at its core. By harnessing negative thermal coupling and inverse-temperature regulation, our work establishes a paradigm for advanced thermal-management technologies.
