A functionally complete logic gate in a soft photoresponsive hydrogel

Fariha Mahmood, Victor V. Yashin, Anna C. Balazs and Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu ()
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Fariha Mahmood: McMaster University
Victor V. Yashin: University of Pittsburgh
Anna C. Balazs: University of Pittsburgh
Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu: McMaster University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Materials that compute—or process stimuli to generate a result output—are important in applications ranging from soft robotics to therapeutics. Here, we report a NAND gate based on the interactions of three self-trapped beams in a photoresponsive hydrogel. The beams self-trap by triggering localised contraction and corresponding refractive index changes (Δn) and communicate with each other through the interconnected hydrogel network. Light-induced Δn in one region suppresses contraction (and Δn) elsewhere. This inhibits self-trapping and reduces the power of the central beam—which competes with two equidistant neighbours—compared to either peripheral beam, which competes with just one neighbour. The NAND gate exploits this geometry-dependent inhibition: the central beam’s peak power—the output—exceeds a threshold value unless both neighbours—inputs—are on, i.e., an output = 0 is retrieved only with input [1, 1]. We then demonstrate two and, separately, twelve sequentially chained NAND operations, and propose a route to multiple, simultaneously linked operations in a single, internally mediated step. Here, the output from one operation is spontaneously directed to subsequent operations. Our findings open pathways to soft materials with autonomous computational functionality.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64960-4

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