Reconfigurable asymmetrical broadband mid-infrared light filter design by materials informatics.

The article focuses on the design of a reconfigurable asymmetrical broadband mid-infrared (MIR) light filter based on a vanadium dioxide (VO₂) triangular grating structure optimized through materials informatics. Utilizing the phase-transition properties of VO₂, which switches between metallic and dielectric states near 68 °C, the filter dynamically modulates asymmetrical light transmission across a broad wavelength range of 5–16 μm by exploiting surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and diffraction effects. Bayesian optimization was employed to refine the geometric parameters of the triangular grating, achieving significant forward-backward transmission contrast at elevated temperatures, while maintaining symmetric transmission at lower temperatures. This tunable optical behavior makes the filter suitable for applications such as radiative cooling, thermophotovoltaics, and energy-efficient window technologies.