Scalable, rapid, and predictable ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared camouflage systems inspired by squid skin

Abstract

Materials and systems with tunable optical and spectroscopic properties have attracted much research interest for applications in adaptive camouflage technologies. Within this context, our laboratory has developed bioinspired surface wrinkling-based adaptive camouflage platforms with tunable visible-to-infrared properties. Herein, we build upon these efforts and report the scalable fabrication of squid skin-inspired ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared adaptive camouflage systems with improved response times and predictable spectroscopic functionalities. These findings lay the groundwork for the iterative computational design, high-throughput manufacturing, and performance optimization of analogous adaptive camouflage, heat management, light-to-heat conversion, rewritable optical, and electromagnetic shielding technologies.