High-contrast and fast electrochromic switching enabled by plasmonics

Ting Xu (), Erich C. Walter, Amit Agrawal, Christopher Bohn, Jeyavel Velmurugan, Wenqi Zhu, Henri J. Lezec () and A. Alec Talin ()
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Ting Xu: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China
Erich C. Walter: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Amit Agrawal: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Christopher Bohn: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Jeyavel Velmurugan: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Wenqi Zhu: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Henri J. Lezec: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
A. Alec Talin: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract With vibrant colours and simple, room-temperature processing methods, electrochromic polymers have attracted attention as active materials for flexible, low-power-consuming devices. However, slow switching speeds in devices realized to date, as well as the complexity of having to combine several distinct polymers to achieve a full-colour gamut, have limited electrochromic materials to niche applications. Here we achieve fast, high-contrast electrochromic switching by significantly enhancing the interaction of light—propagating as deep-subwavelength-confined surface plasmon polaritons through arrays of metallic nanoslits, with an electrochromic polymer—present as an ultra-thin coating on the slit sidewalls. The switchable configuration retains the short temporal charge-diffusion characteristics of thin electrochromic films, while maintaining the high optical contrast associated with thicker electrochromic coatings. We further demonstrate that by controlling the pitch of the nanoslit arrays, it is possible to achieve a full-colour response with high contrast and fast switching speeds, while relying on just one electrochromic polymer.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10479

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