Patent ID: 7722421

Claim:
A method comprising: applying current to a composition comprising a first material and a second material interspersed within the first material to form a structure such that the first and second materials maintain a periodicity of distribution between about 100 nm and about 1000 nm; and heating the composition to a temperature greater than about 2000 Kelvin to cause the emission or transmission of photons having a wavelength between about 400 nm and about 700 nm and the reflection of photons having a wavelength greater than about 700 nm for a duration of at least about 10 hours, wherein at least one of the first material and the second material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of HfC, NbC, W 2 C, TaC, ZrC, HfN, Nb 2 N, Ta 2 N, ZrN, Hf B 2 , TaB 2 , ZrB 2 , W 2 B, C and combinations of two or more thereof.