Spatiotemporally modulated full-polarized light emission for multiplexed optical encryption

Abstract

Spatiotemporal control of full freedoms of polarized light emission is crucial in multiplexed optical computing, encryption and communication. Although recent advancements have been made in active emission or passive conversion of polarized light through solution-processed nanomaterials or metasurfaces, these design paths usually encounter limitations, such as small polarization degrees, low light utilization efficiency, limited polarization states, and lack of spatiotemporal control. Here, we addressed these challenges by integrating the spatiotemporal modulation of the LED device, the precise control and efficient polarization emission through nanomaterial assembly, and the programmable patterning/positioning using 3D printing. We achieved an extremely high degree of polarization for both linearly and circularly polarized emission from ultrathin inorganic nanowires and quantum nanorods thanks to the shear-force-induced alignment effect during the protruding of printing filaments. Real-time polarization modulation covering the entire Poincaré sphere can be conveniently obtained through the programming of the on-off state of each LED pixel. Further, the output polarization states can be encoded by an ordered chiral plasmonic film. Our device provides an excellent platform for multiplexing spatiotemporal polarization information, enabling visible light communication with an exceptionally elevated level of physical layer security and multifunctional encrypted displays that can encode both 2D and 3D information.

Here the authors merge spatiotemporal modulation LED device, precise control and efficient polarization emission and programmable patterning/positioning using 3D printing demonstrating encryption in visible light communication (VLC) enabled by polarization state modulation.