Magnetocaloric-Effect-Enhanced Near-Field Magneto-optical Thermal Switch

Abstract

Magnetism has played an increasingly important role in thermal technologies over the past century, including solid-state magnetic refrigerators and magneto-optical thermal switches. In this study, modeling shows that a two-pronged approach enables a thermal switch with two tuning ``knobs'': a magnetocaloric knob to tune the temperature gradient, and a magneto-optical knob to fine-tune the effective thermal resistance. This enables additional modes of operation, such as reversing the flow of heat. This work highlights the utility of combining various ``-caloric'' effects with complementary modes of heat transfer for fresh ways of controlling thermal energy.