Multilayer SiC/SiO2 Ceramic Nanofiber Membrane with High Reflection and Anisotropic Thermal Conduction for High-Energy Laser Protection

Silica (SiO 2 ) nanofiber membranes are promising shields for high-energy lasers due to strong multiple scattering; however, protective performance is often limited by heat accumulation when optical shielding and thermal management cannot be achieved simultaneously. Here, we report a photothermal co-design strategy based on a multilayer SiC/SiO 2 ceramic nanofiber membrane constructed by periodic stacking of a repeating SiO 2 scattering / SiC-SiO 2 thermal-spreading / SiO 2 scattering unit. The SiO 2 layers provide high reflectivity via multiscale scattering, whereas the interfacial-engineered SiC-SiO 2 layer is formed through molecular-scale crosslinking between SiC and SiO 2 , which establishes continuous in-plane thermal-spreading pathways while maintaining robust interlayer coupling. Consequently, the SiC/SiO 2 NFM-7L exhibits an overall reflectivity exceeding 90% at 1080 nm together with pronounced thermal anisotropy. Among the tested configurations, the membrane delivers the best performance: after 120 s of continuous irradiation at 21.9 kW/cm 2 , it remains structurally intact and limits the rear-surface temperature to below 400 °C, effectively protecting the underlying substrate. This work establishes a scalable photothermal architecture that can be extended to other ceramic nanofiber systems, providing a platform for designing multifunctional protective materials under extreme laser-thermal environments.