韩国浦项科技大学Su Seok Choi团队实现了使用厚度控制的可拉伸手性液晶弹性体的可编程光学加密。相关论文于2025年3月26日发表在《光：科学与应用》杂志上。

对加密安全日益增长的需求鼓励了具有独特光学特性的先进材料的创新，以使用光来保护信息。软材料的结构颜色在响应外部刺激时表现出动态可调的光学特性，使其成为多级光子加密的理想选择。然而，之前关于基于结构颜色的光子加密的大多数研究主要集中在单波长调谐上，而在实际设备应用中采用的触发方法不足。

研究组提出了一种手性液晶弹性体（CLCE），其设计用于拉伸诱导的多波长控制，以增强光子加密功能。通过采用具有厚度调制CLCE的异质配置，他们实现了机械变形下的多光子带波长控制。此外，该方法将可调波长范围从可见光谱扩展到红外区域，并集成了离散的多像素阵列结构，为复杂的加密方案提供了先进的空间和光谱控制。这种多波长调制方法有望在光子加密、自适应光学和下一代信息安全系统中提供巨大的应用潜力。

附：英文原文

Title: Programmable optical encryption using thickness-controlled stretchable chiral liquid crystal elastomers

Author: Nam, Seungmin, Woo, Seohyun, Park, Ji Yoon, Choi, Su Seok

Issue&Volume: 2025-03-26

Abstract: The growing demand for cryptographic security encourages the innovation of advanced materials with unique optical properties to secure information using light. Structural colors with soft materials exhibit dynamically tunable optical properties in response to external stimuli, making them ideal for multi-level photonic encryption. However, most previous studies on structural color-based photonic encryption have predominantly focused on single-wavelength tuning while employing inadequate triggering methods for practical device applications. Here, we propose a chiral liquid crystal elastomer (CLCE) designed for stretching-induced multi-wavelength control to enhance photonic encryption functionality. By employing a heterogeneous configuration with thickness-modulated CLCE, we achieve multi-photonic band wavelength control under mechanical deformation. Furthermore, this method extends the tunable wavelength range beyond the visible spectrum into the infrared region and integrates a discrete multi-pixel array structure, enabling advanced spatial and spectral control for complex encryption schemes. This multi-wavelength modulation method is expected to provide significant potential for applications in photonic encryption, adaptive optics, and next-generation information security systems.

DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01815-z

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-025-01815-z