Jacquard-woven photonic bandgap fiber displays

TL;DR

This paper introduces photonic textile displays woven on a Jacquard loom using novel polymer photonic bandgap fibers that can change color and appearance, enabling dynamic visual effects and potential security applications.

Contribution

It presents the development of flexible, small-diameter photonic fibers integrated into textiles, demonstrating their weaving into complex structures and dynamic color-changing capabilities.

Findings

Photonic fibers can be woven into textiles using a Jacquard loom.

Color and appearance can be dynamically changed with ambient or transmitted light.

Potential application in security ware for low visibility conditions.

Abstract

We present an overview of photonic textile displays woven on a Jacquard loom, using newly discovered polymer photonic bandgap fibers that have the ability to change color and appearance when illuminated with ambient or transmitted light. The photonic fiber can be thin (smaller than 300 microns in diameter) and highly flexible, which makes it possible to weave in the weft on a computerized Jacquard loom and develop intricate double weave structures together with a secondary weft yarn. We demonstrate how photonic crystal fibers enable a variety of color and structural patterns on the textile, and how dynamic imagery can be created by balancing the ambient and emitted radiation. Finally, a possible application in security ware for low visibility conditions is described as an example.