Matrix-Driving Stretchable Structural Colors in Multi-Pixels Operation Using Chiral Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Stretchable structural color technologies are garnering significant attention in photonics for various applications owing to its stretchable flexibility and ability to control the photonic wavelength of light. However, stretchable photonic media, such as chiral liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), are subjected to uncontrollable nonuniform strain distribution and position-dependent color change during the stretching-assisted color tuning process. Therefore, controlling the colors of the mechanochromic structures is limited to just single-unit operation level and practically desirable matrix driving mechanochromic devices for multi-pixel applications have not been realized yet. The study reports position-independent and multi-pixel-driven uniform stretchable structural color switching realized through row and column matrix switching operations by electrically stretchable CLCEs. The uniform strain-induced color control mechanism and operations of a multi-arrayed matrix-driven stretchable color structure are theoretically and experimentally investigated. This breakthrough of a uniform and multi-pixel color switching of a seven-segment matrix driving stretchable CLCEs will be a technological leap into full-scale use of mechanochromic structural colors in practical applications. Stretchable color-changing mechanochromic technologies are limited in simple and non-uniform color control due to the asymmetrical and non-uniform mechanical strain distribution. In this study, by using symmetrical and uniform control of electrically stretchable chiral liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), uniformly controllable mechanochromic color switching in multi-pixel operations and also seven-segment matrix driving for practical applications is investigated.image