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Biomimetic Multicolor-Separating Photonic Skin using Electrically Stretchable Chiral Photonic Elastomers
Seungmin Nam1, Dahee Wang1, Chaehyun Kwon1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, South Korea.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|April 28, 2023
Summary
Researchers developed stretchable chiral photonic elastomers (CPEs) for tunable, simultaneous multicolor displays. This innovation enables advanced applications like camouflage and electronic skin by controlling color separation with engineered elasticity and electrical input.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Structural color arises from nanoperiodic dielectric structures in soft materials.
- Chiral photonic elastomers (CPEs) self-organize into helical nanostructures, enabling tunable color via stretching.
- Controlling multicolor separation in CPEs beyond uniaxial stretching has been a significant limitation for practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present stretchable CPEs with simultaneous multicolor control, including electrical tunability.
- To engineer heterogeneous elastic moduli for controlled multicolor separation.
- To develop advanced photonic devices such as e-skin and camouflage systems.
Main Methods:
- Engineering heterogeneous elastic moduli in CPEs to achieve simultaneous multicolor separation.
- Utilizing dielectric elastomer actuators for electrically controlled stretchable multicolor separation.
- Developing multiarrayed color binning and hybrid CPE structures.
Main Results:
- Achieved stretchable and simultaneous multicolor separation from initially homogeneous CPEs.
- Demonstrated electrically tunable multicolor separation using hybrid CPE structures on dielectric elastomer actuators.
- Developed functional photonic e-skin with chameleon-like properties and multicolor concealed camouflage switching.
Conclusions:
- The developed stretchable CPEs offer unprecedented simultaneous multicolor control.
- Engineered heterogeneous elasticity is key to achieving precise multicolor separation.
- These advancements significantly enhance the functionality of photonic systems for diverse device applications.
