Entry Date:
April 18, 2014

Responsive Surface Texturing and Coloring

Principal Investigator John Joannopoulos

Co-investigator Marin Soljacic


The far-field appearance of color of a material can be controlled by tailoring the nano-structure of the material at length-scales substantially smaller than the wavelength of light of interest. This principle can be applied at almost any wavelength of interest (e.g. visible, infrared, microwave...) If the nano-structure is tailored dynamically, a dynamic control of the far-field electromagnetic appearance (or response) can be accomplished. In this project, we propose to explore nano-photonic techniques to dynamically tailor electromagnetic appearance and response, including: color, texture, thermal signature, and microwave response. If the techniques to be explored and developed in this project are successful, they could aid in Soldier survivability by reducing detection in the field.