Bioinspired Hierarchical Photonic Structures with Controllable Polarization and Color for Optical-Multiplexed Information Encryption

Optical multiplexing technologies, which integrate multiple optical channels based on photonic structures, offer a significant solution for high-capacity information storage and advanced encryption. However, these photonic materials are limited by their inherent and unswitchable chiral structures, which result in a restricted control over the spatial distribution of light. Here, we propose to construct an integrating optical-multiplexed structure using tunable 1D photonic crystals and orientation texture via a combined self-assembly and shear-aligning approach. In this photonic system, the created diverse orientation structure of ethyl cellulose (EC) offers a wide range of light modulations through phase retardation. When combined with the chromatic layer formed by the self-assembly of EC, tunable wavelength and polarization are achieved. Notably, due to the identical components of the light modulation and chiral photonic crystal layers, the traceless interface between them ensures both high confidentiality and durability. By leveraging these hierarchical structures, photonic slices with well-defined polarization states and structural colors are created, enabling the construction of an advanced photonic platform for multiplexed information storage and multichannel 3D and 4D encryption. This study presents a promising strategy to develop traceless, highly confidential photonic units with controllable polarization and color for advanced encryption technologies.