Opto-thermally decoupled photonic structure

Broadband camouflage and encrypted communication

Independently tunable structural color and thermal radiation enable simultaneous visible-SWIR camouflage and MWIR/LWIR stealth, plus covert infrared communication, in a single device

Chengcong, Li · Wang, Zhuning · Ju, Zezhao · Song, Jieren · Lin, Hongtao · Tang, Huajie · Ma, Yaoguang · Cao, Xun · Zhao, Dongliang

Light: Science and Applications 2026

Specifications

Optical camouflage bandwidth

{'zh': '0.38–2.5', 'en': '0.38–2.5'} μm

Structural color gamut

{'zh': '66', 'en': '66'} %

Advantages

Independently tunable color and thermal radiation

The structural-color palette covers 66% of the CMYK gamut while the MWIR/LWIR emissivity is independently switchable, enabling greater design freedom for multispectral camouflage.

Large emissivity switching

The emissivity switches between 0.41±0.04/0.90±0.01 and 0.93±0.03/0.45±0.01 in MWIR/LWIR, providing high contrast for dynamic thermal camouflage.

Infrared encrypted communication capability

By utilizing the differential MWIR/LWIR thermal signatures from the continuous phase evolution of VO₂, information can be encoded for infrared encrypted communication, extending the functionality of the camouflage platform.

Applications

• Infrared stealth：Dynamically modulate MWIR/LWIR emissivity to match background infrared signatures and evade thermal detection.
• Multispectral camouflage：Integrate broadband optical and thermal camouflage to counter multispectral detection across visible, infrared, and laser bands.
• Covert communication：Exploit thermal signatures from VO₂ phase evolution to encode information, enabling covert encrypted communication in infrared bands.
• Dynamic thermal control：Continuously modulate emissivity via VO₂ phase transition for rapid and reversible dynamic thermal management.
• Adaptive optics：Inverse-designed photonic structure can optimize spectral response for different environments, adaptively matching the background.