With the continuously increasing demands on imaging accuracy and on-orbit service life of space optical remote sensors, efficient thermal management under extreme thermal environments has become a critical bottleneck constraining their performance. The substantial temperature fluctuations induced by solar radiation and cold space can cause thermal deformation of optical components, elevation of focal-plane dark current, and even system failure. Traditional metallic thermal conductive materials can no longer meet the increasingly stringent requirements for heat dissipation and lightweighting. Carbon-based materials—including graphene, carbon nanotubes, and carbon/carbon composites—exhibit enormous potential for breaking through the bottlenecks of space thermal management by virtue of their ultra-high thermal conductivity, low density, and low coefficient of thermal expansion. However, systematic performance comparisons and application guidelines for these materials in the specific scenarios of space optical remote sensors remain absent, hindering the effective translation from laboratory research to engineering implementation. Therefore, a systematic review of the thermal conduction mechanisms, fabrication processes, and space applicability of carbon-based high-thermal-conductivity materials is of great significance for promoting their precise application in the thermal management of space optical remote sensors.
In a recent review published in Space: Science & Technology , the team led by Yu Shanmeng from the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, systematically reviewed the research progress of carbon-based high-thermal-conductivity materials in the field of thermal management for space optical remote sensors. Starting from the theory of phonon thermal conduction, the review categorically elaborates on the thermophysical properties of zero-dimensional fullerenes, one-dimensional carbon nanotubes, two-dimensional graphene, and three-dimensional graphite foams, and summarizes their application cases in typical scenarios such as heat dissipation of high-power devices, flexible thermal conduction for mobile focal planes, cooling of cryogenic optics, and temperature homogenization of complex structures. The results indicate that high-thermal-conductivity graphite heat spreaders can meet the heat dissipation requirements of high-power chips; the equivalent thermal resistance of graphite-film thermal straps is only 48% of that of copper thermal straps of the same size, while their mass is merely 23%; carbon/carbon composites reduce the axial temperature difference of star tracker brackets from 28 °C to 5 °C; and the mass of high-thermal-conductivity graphite radiator panels is reduced by approximately two-thirds compared with conventional aluminum panels. Meanwhile, the review points out that carbon-based materials still face challenges in large-area fabrication, interfacial thermal resistance control, space irradiation stability, and thermal expansion matching. Future efforts should focus on developing multifunctional composite and metastructured carbon materials, as well as strengthening research on multiscale thermal conduction mechanisms. This work provides a systematic reference framework for the design, selection, and engineering application of carbon-based high-thermal-conductivity materials in the thermal management of space optical remote sensors.
First, this paper focuses on the critical role of carbon-based high-thermal-conductivity materials in the thermal management of space optical remote sensors, and systematically elucidates the thermal conduction mechanisms and classification system of carbon-based materials. Space optical remote sensors operating in orbit are subjected to extreme thermal environments; temperature fluctuations induced by solar radiation and cold space can cause thermal deformation of optical components and elevation of focal-plane dark current, potentially leading to mission failure in severe cases. Traditional metallic thermal conductive materials can no longer meet the increasingly stringent requirements for heat dissipation and lightweighting. Carbon-based materials, owing to their superior thermal conductivity, low density, and radiation resistance, have become a research hotspot in the field of space thermal management. As illustrated in Fig. 1, thermal management of remote sensors encompasses various techniques, including heat pipe technology, isothermalization technology, cryogenic thermal conduction technology, and phase-change energy storage technology, all of which impose stringent demands on the thermal conductivity of materials. Table 1 compares the performance differences between traditional materials and carbon-based materials; the thermal conductivity of carbon-based materials can reach several to over ten times that of copper, while their density is only about two-thirds that of aluminum. The thermal conduction of carbon materials is dominated by lattice vibrations, i.e., phonons, and the thermal conductivity is primarily influenced by microstructure—such as grain size, impurities, and defects—as well as phonon mean free path. As shown in Fig. 3, carbon-based materials can be classified by dimensionality into zero-dimensional fullerenes, one-dimensional carbon nanotubes and carbon fibers, two-dimensional graphene, and three-dimensional diamond, graphite, and carbon foam structures, with significant differences in thermal conductivity across different dimensionalities. The theoretical thermal conductivity of monolayer graphene can reach 5000 W/(m·K), that of carbon nanotubes at room temperature reaches 3500 W/(m·K), and the in-plane thermal conductivity of three-dimensional carbon/carbon composites can exceed 400 W/(m·K). These microscopic carbon materials must be assembled into macroscopic multi-dimensional all-carbon materials—such as graphite paper, graphite blocks, carbon fiber blocks, and carbon foams—before they can be practically used in thermal management devices.
Second, this paper systematically reviews the typical application scenarios and engineering cases of carbon-based materials in the thermal management of space optical remote sensors, encompassing three aspects: heat dissipation for electronic devices, flexible thermal conduction, and structural temperature homogenization. In terms of heat dissipation for high-power electronic devices, as shown in Fig. 5, high-thermal-conductivity graphite heat spreaders with an in-plane thermal conductivity of 650 W/(m·K) and a density of only 2.1 g/cm³ are applied to the thermal management of FPGA and DDR chips. By fabricating bosses on the back side of the graphite plate to ensure tight contact with the chips, the heat dissipation challenge of high-heat-flux devices is effectively addressed. In phase-change energy storage devices, the use of high-thermal-conductivity carbon foam as a skeleton to encapsulate phase-change materials can reduce the peak temperature of the unit by approximately 10 °C, save 30% of the thermal control compensation power consumption, and simultaneously achieve a mass reduction of over 1 kg for the entire satellite. In terms of flexible thermal conduction, as shown in Fig. 8, the application of flexible graphite-film thermal straps in cryogenic optical systems demonstrates that a thermal strap composed of 60 layers of graphite film exhibits a thermal resistance of only 48% of that of a copper thermal cable of the same dimensions, while its mass is merely 23%, successfully maintaining the lens temperature within stringent limits. Carbon fiber bundle cryogenic thermal straps have been employed in multiple space programs, including NASA's ORION and JAXA's ASTRO-H, achieving a thermal conductance of 0.7 W/K at 100 K.
Finally, this paper continues to discuss the application of carbon-based materials in structural temperature homogenization, and analyzes the technical challenges and future development directions they face. In terms of structural temperature homogenization, as shown in Fig. 11, after carbon/carbon composite materials are attached to the surface of a star tracker bracket, the axial temperature difference is reduced from 28 °C to 5 °C, effectively addressing the large-temperature-differential problem. High-thermal-conductivity graphite radiator panels, employing a composite structure of graphite laminates and aluminum honeycomb, achieve a mass of only approximately one-third that of conventional aluminum panels, while significantly improving radiation efficiency. After flexible graphite films are introduced into multi-layer insulation assemblies, the temperature fluctuation within the camera is narrowed from ±2.8 °C to ±0.9 °C, greatly enhancing the thermal stability of the optical system. In terms of technical challenges, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fabrication of large-area, high-quality graphene is associated with high costs and difficulties in uniformity control; graphite heat spreaders suffer from low compressive strength and susceptibility to surface contamination, and interfacial bonding and dispersion uniformity directly affect composite material performance. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between carbon-based materials and structural materials such as aluminum alloys and titanium alloys is significant—approximately 1×10⁻⁶/K for carbon/carbon composites compared with approximately 23×10⁻⁶/K for aluminum alloys—which can induce thermal stresses at the interface, potentially leading to delamination or bubble formation. Intermediate layers such as flexible silicone adhesives are therefore required for CTE matching. With respect to long-term stability, the extreme temperature cycling, vacuum, and high-energy radiation environments of space may cause oxidation or structural degradation of graphene and carbon nanotubes; moreover, outgassing from high-specific-surface-area carbon materials in vacuum may contaminate optical surfaces. Future efforts should deepen theoretical research on multiscale thermal conduction mechanisms, develop multifunctional composite materials that integrate thermal conduction, lightweighting, and structural reinforcement, and explore metastructured carbon materials that achieve performance breakthroughs through precise structural and functional tailoring. This review provides a systematic reference framework for the research and engineering application of carbon-based high-thermal-conductivity materials in the thermal management of space optical remote sensors.
Carbon-Based High-Thermal-Conductivity Materials for Thermal Management in Space Optical Sensors
25-Jun-2026