Multispectral Graphene-Based Electro-Optical Surfaces with Reversible Tunability from Visible to Microwave Wavelengths

Optical materials with colour-changing abilities have been explored for display devices(1), smart windows(2,3), or modulation of visual appearance(4–6). The efficiency of these materials, however, has strong wavelength dependence, which limits their functionality to a specific spectral range. Here, we report graphene-based electro-optical devices with unprecedented optical tunability covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to microwave. We achieve this non-volatile and reversible tunability by electro-intercalation of lithium into graphene layers in an optically accessible device structure. This unique colour-changing capability, together with area-selective intercalation, inspires fabrication of new multispectral devices, including display devices and electro-optical camouflage coating. We anticipate that these results provide realistic approaches for programmable smart optical surfaces with a potential utility in many scientific and engineering fields such as active plasmonics and adaptive thermal management.