The revolutionary nature of the material is that it will change color simply through the material being flexed. The material was created by scientists accurately etching very tiny features onto the surface of a silicon film. So small is the film that it is around 1000 times thinner than a human hair; and so small are the etches that they are smaller than a wavelength of light. The process was made possible through advances in nanotechnology.
Through precision engineering, the scientists are able to determine the the range of colors that the material will reflect, depending on how it is flexed and bent. This happens because instead of spreading the light into a complete rainbow (as happens when light strikes an object), the etchings reflect a very specific wavelength of light.
Scientists, Phys.org reports, have been able to tune the spaces between the bars in such a way that it is possible to select the specific color to be reflected. The distance between the spaces of the etchings determines the color; and variations to the pressure applied affects the spaces. Thus, scientists can control pressure and thereby affect the color.
This purpose of the new material is to trigger the development of a new generation of display technologies, where colors are even sharper. The primary goal here is with improving screens used for outdoor broadcasts. Other potential applications include color-shifting camouflage, as well as sensors that could detect otherwise obscured defects in buildings, bridges, and aircraft. The examination for defects would be an important safety measure, since the use of different colored light would help assess a structure for dangerous defects. Before these ideas can be tested, the research group need to find a way to commercialize the silicon on a larger scale.
The research was performed at University of California at Berkeley. The findings have been reported to the journal Optica, in a paper called “Flexible photonic metastructures for tunable coloration.”