Multispectral Electro-Optical Surfaces: from Visible to Microwave

TL;DR

This paper introduces graphene-based electro-optical devices capable of non-volatile, reversible color and spectrum tuning from visible to microwave, enabling advanced multispectral applications like displays and camouflage.

Contribution

It presents a novel graphene electro-intercalation method achieving broad-spectrum, non-volatile tunability, expanding the functionality of optical surfaces across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Findings

Achieved reversible spectrum tuning from visible to microwave.

Demonstrated area-selective intercalation for multispectral devices.

Proposed applications in displays and optical camouflage.

Abstract

Optical materials with colour-changing abilities have been explored for display devices, smart windows, or modulation of visual appearance. The efficiency of these materials, however, has strong wavelength dependence, which limits their functionality to a narrow spectral range. Here, we report graphene-based electro-optical devices with unprecedented optical tunability covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to microwave. We achieve this non-volatile and reversible tunability by electro-intercalation of lithium into graphene layers in an optically accessible device structure. This unique colour-changing capability, together with area-selective intercalation, inspires fabrication of new multispectral devices, including display devices and electro-optical camouflage coating. We anticipate that these results provide realistic approaches for programmable smart optical surfaces with a potential utility in many scientific and engineering fields.