Wearable and interactive multicolored photochromic fiber display

Authors:
raw_author_name: Yuwei Wang
raw_affiliation_string: State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
raw_author_name: Jiayu Hu
raw_affiliation_string: State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
raw_author_name: Xiaojuan Liu
raw_affiliation_string: Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging (HUST), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430030, China
raw_author_name: Hang Wei
raw_affiliation_string: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
raw_author_name: Xiaoling Lu
raw_affiliation_string: School of Performing Arts, Wuhan Conservatory of Music, Wuhan, 430060, China
raw_author_name: Xinyuan Cai
raw_affiliation_string: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
raw_author_name: Li Liu
raw_affiliation_string: Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging (HUST), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430030, China
raw_author_name: Ning Zhou
raw_affiliation_string: Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging (HUST), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430030, China
raw_author_name: Xiangru Wang
raw_affiliation_string: School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
raw_author_name: Huamin Zhou
raw_affiliation_string: State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
raw_author_name: Cheng-Wei Qiu
raw_affiliation_string: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
raw_author_name: Yan-Qing Lu
raw_affiliation_string: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
raw_author_name: Guangming Tao
raw_affiliation_string: Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging (HUST), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430030, China

Abstract: Endowing flexible and adaptable fiber devices with light-emitting capabilities has the potential to revolutionize the current design philosophy of intelligent, wearable interactive devices. However, significant challenges remain in developing fiber devices when it comes to achieving uniform and customizable light effects while utilizing lightweight hardware. Here, we introduce a mass-produced, wearable, and interactive photochromic fiber that provides uniform multicolored light control. We designed independent waveguides inside the fiber to maintain total internal reflection of light as it traverses the fiber. The impact of excessive light leakage on the overall illuminance can be reduced by utilizing the saturable absorption effect of fluorescent materials to ensure light emission uniformity along the transmission direction. In addition, we coupled various fluorescent composite materials inside the fiber to achieve artificially controllable spectral radiation of multiple color systems in a single fiber. We prepared fibers on mass-produced kilometer-long using the thermal drawing method. The fibers can be directly integrated into daily wearable devices or clothing in various patterns and combined with other signal input components to control and display patterns as needed. This work provides a new perspective and inspiration to the existing field of fiber display interaction, paving the way for future human-machine integration.