Thermal Imaging Confirms Unique Electromagnetic Properties of Aires Re

Study Type: Experimental physics — thermal imaging of semiconductor resonator

Conference: 11th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2026), London, UK, February 24–27, 2026

Authors: Gennadi Lukyanov, Sergei Makarov

Institution: Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, ITMO University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Object of Study: Lifetune silicon resonator — 20 mm × 20 mm × 1 mm, self-affine ring grooves (0.2 μm wide, 0.8 μm deep)

Instruments: Peltier battery (thermal source) · Testo 890 thermal imager (8–14 μm sensitivity)

Background and Purpose

Previous computational work by Kopyltsov and Lukyanov (2007, 2022) modeled the Aires silicon resonator as a MOSFET-like structure: when an electromagnetic field is applied, the self-affine groove pattern causes electric charge carriers to concentrate preferentially in the groove regions, producing a non-uniform charge distribution across the wafer surface. This concentration is the theoretical basis for the resonator’s electromagnetic interaction properties.

However, charge carrier concentration is also strongly temperature-dependent in semiconductors — exponentially so. This 2026 paper by Lukyanov and Makarov tested a direct physical prediction: if charge carriers concentrate in the groove regions under electromagnetic exposure, they should also concentrate there under thermal excitation. Thermal imaging can reveal this indirectly through emissivity differences, since free electrons absorb electromagnetic radiation (including infrared), and higher electron concentration means higher local emissivity.

The experimental question: Does the self-affine relief region of a Lifetune silicon resonator behave differently from the smooth peripheral region when both are subjected to the same temperature? Thermal imaging measures apparent temperature from infrared emission — if the relief region emits more infrared at the same actual temperature, it has higher emissivity, indicating higher charge carrier concentration.

The Object: Lifetune Resonator

The resonator studied is the silicon wafer at the heart of every Lifetune product: a 20 mm × 20 mm × 1 mm silicon square with ring grooves etched into the surface. The grooves (0.2 μm wide, 0.8 μm deep) are arranged according to the laws of self-similarity and scale invariance using affine transformations — the same mathematical framework that produces fractal patterns. The resulting surface topology is self-affine by construction. The outer peripheral regions of the wafer are smooth polished silicon.

This object has previously been shown to produce a multi-frequency electromagnetic resonance response when exposed to an electric field, which is why it is called a “resonator” — its self-affine structure generates responses across multiple frequencies simultaneously.

Experimental Setup

The resonator was placed on a Peltier battery and subjected to periodic heating and cooling by reversing the current polarity through the Peltier element
The surface temperature distribution was continuously recorded using a Testo 890 thermal imager (spectral sensitivity: 8–14 μm)
Three temperature readings were tracked simultaneously: (1) Peltier battery surface, (2) central region of the resonator with self-affine relief, (3) peripheral region of the resonator (smooth polished silicon)
A thermal inertia index τ = C/(h·A) was used to characterize the delay between Peltier temperature changes and resonator temperature response

Results

Key Measurement Outcome

During heating, the apparent temperature of the central region (with relief) was consistently significantly higher than the apparent temperature of the peripheral region (smooth silicon)
In reality, both regions are parts of the same physical object and therefore must have the same actual temperature
The only possible explanation for the apparent temperature difference: the emissivity coefficient of the central (relief) region is significantly higher than that of the smooth peripheral region
The emissivity of the central region approached that of the Peltier battery surface (ε ≈ 0.8), while the smooth polished silicon had a much lower baseline emissivity
At moments of rapid temperature reversal, emissivity showed a sharp decrease, then recovered — consistent with transient disruption and re-establishment of the electron concentration gradient

The critical puzzle — and its solution: The groove width (0.2 μm) is incomparably smaller than the Testo 890’s spectral sensitivity range (8–14 μm). Grooves of that width cannot trap or absorb infrared radiation in that wavelength range through cavity/groove geometry alone. Therefore, the high emissivity of the central region cannot be explained by the physical dimensions of the grooves. Something else is absorbing the infrared radiation. That something else is free electrons. In semiconductors, free-electron light absorption increases with wavelength — exactly matching the infrared range measured. The concentration of free electrons is exponentially higher in the groove regions due to charge carrier redistribution driven by the self-affine topology, confirming the core prediction of the theoretical model.

Region	Surface Type	Measured Emissivity	Explanation
Peltier battery surface	Aluminum radiator	ε ≈ 0.8	Reference — known value
Central resonator (with relief)	Self-affine ring grooves	Up to ε ≈ 0.8	Elevated electron concentration → increased free-electron IR absorption
Peripheral resonator	Polished silicon	Much lower	Baseline for undoped smooth silicon

The Physical Mechanism: Why Electrons Concentrate in the Grooves

The self-affine groove configuration creates an energetically favorable site for charge carriers. When the resonator is heated:

Temperature rise breaks covalent bonds in silicon, releasing free electrons (exponential concentration increase per Kittel, 1996)
Temperature gradient between the Peltier-heated bottom surface and the top surface drives electron diffusion from bottom to top (Fourier heat flow: q = k·ΔT/Δx·A, calculated as ≋1184 W/m² for a 20°C temperature difference)
Groove geometry makes groove regions energetically favorable for electron residence — the distance from groove bottoms to the heated lower surface is shorter than the path from smooth surface to the same heat source, so electrons preferentially accumulate in grooves
Higher electron concentration in grooves → greater free-electron infrared absorption → higher apparent temperature in thermal imaging

What this means for EMF modulation: The thermal experiment validates the charge concentration model that underpins the resonator’s electromagnetic interaction mechanism. If charge carriers concentrate in grooves under thermal excitation, they do the same under electromagnetic excitation. This concentration is what enables the resonator to interact with incoming EM fields — the groove-concentrated electrons act as the primary electromagnetic interaction sites, enabling the diffraction, re-radiation, and field restructuring behavior documented in previous computational and biological studies.

Connection to Previous Work

Lukyanov and co-authors have built a consistent body of theoretical and experimental work on the Aires resonator:

2007 (Kopyltsov, Lukyanov, Serov, PhysCon 2007): Modeled coherent EM emission from the self-affine semiconductor surface — first computational treatment of the resonator’s EM response
2022 (Kopyltsov, Lukyanov, Serov, ICICT 2022): Computer simulation of coupled ring groove system’s response to EM radiation — published in ICICT Springer proceedings (Vol. 1, pp. 85–92)
2026 (Lukyanov, Makarov, ICICT 2026): First experimental (non-computational) physical validation using thermal imaging — directly confirms charge concentration prediction

The 2026 thermal imaging result closes an important loop: the mathematical model that predicts charge concentration in grooves is now confirmed experimentally using an independent physical technique (infrared thermography) that does not depend on any electromagnetic assumptions.

Authors and Institution

Gennadi Lukyanov, Ph.D. — Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, ITMO University (Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics), St. Petersburg, Russia
Sergei Makarov — Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Conference

Presented at the 11th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2026), London, UK, February 24–27, 2026, on the digital (Zoom) platform. Conference chairs: R. Simon Sherratt (University of Reading, UK), Xin-She Yang (Middlesex University, UK), Nilanjan Dey (Techno International New Town, India), Amit Joshi (ICICT 2026 Chair).

Conclusions

Periodic heating of the Lifetune silicon resonator with a Peltier element, combined with thermal imaging, reveals that the central self-affine relief region consistently emits significantly more infrared radiation than the smooth peripheral silicon — despite being at the same actual temperature. This higher emissivity cannot be explained by groove geometry (0.2 μm grooves cannot absorb 8–14 μm infrared) and is instead explained by elevated free-electron concentration in the groove regions, with electron IR absorption increasing with wavelength. This experimental result directly validates the charge concentration model used in numerical simulations of the resonator’s electromagnetic behavior, confirming that the self-affine surface topology creates a physically distinct electromagnetic interaction zone compared to plain polished silicon.

Source: Lukyanov, G., & Makarov, S. (2026). Experimental study of the behavior of a silicon wafer with self-affine surface relief during periodic heating and cooling. Presented at the 11th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2026), London, UK, February 24–27, 2026.

Thermal Imaging Confirms Unique Electromagnetic Properties of Aires Resonator Surface — ICICT 2026