Researchers have built a flexible reflective display that modulates visible and near-infrared light within a single active layer, aiming to deliver optical information simultaneously to human eyes and machine vision systems. The work, published in npj Flexible Electronics, combines an electrically tunable dual-band Gires-Tournois resonator with the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS.
Reflective displays are attractive because they operate at ultralow power and are compatible with flexible and wearable platforms. However, dynamically tunable reflective displays demonstrated so far, including electrophoretic displays, have been confined to the visible spectral range. That limitation restricts their use in environments where information must reach both human observers and robotic sensors reliably under varying illumination.
The new platform works by electrochemically doping PEDOT:PSS, which changes the polymer’s complex refractive index. Applying voltages within a low range of −2.0 V to +1.0 V drives this modulation, producing high reflectance contrast in two bands at once.
In the visible range, the device achieves a hue variation of 167.2 degrees. In the near-infrared range, it reaches a reflectance change of 38 percent at 1270 nm. The switching dynamics are reported as a rise time of 88 ms and a fall time of 165 ms.
To show that the concept can scale beyond a single pixel, the team fabricated a 4 × 4 active-matrix pixel array on a flexible thin-film transistor backplane. The array demonstrated independent pixel-level control, supported by a high on–off ratio of approximately 10^6, low off current, and high spatial uniformity, which together suppress pixel crosstalk.
The authors validated the resonator array through visible–near-infrared dual-band recognition under bright conditions, and through robust near-infrared pattern recognition under haze and low-light conditions. According to the study, these demonstrations indicate the platform’s potential for delivering visual information to both human and robotic vision systems.
The dual-band capability is the central technical advance. Because visible and near-infrared modulation occur within one active layer, the architecture avoids stacking separate display mechanisms for each band. The Gires-Tournois resonator provides the optical cavity structure that shapes the reflectance response across both spectral regions.
The study describes an early-access, peer-reviewed accepted article, and the reported results come from the fabricated device demonstrations described above. By combining low-voltage operation, flexible construction, and dual-band output, the platform points toward displays that could serve mixed human–machine viewing scenarios, such as those involving near-infrared sensors operating in challenging lighting or hazy conditions.
Subject of Research: A flexible active-matrix electrochromic display based on a Gires-Tournois resonator that modulates both visible and near-infrared light for human and robotic vision.
Article Title: Flexible active-matrix dual-band electrochromic display based on a Gires-Tournois resonator for human and robotic vision
Article References: Jeong, H. E., Lee, C., Jeon, J. M., Lee, J. S., Cho, S., Seo, D. H., Kim, H. R., Kim, M. S., Ko, J. H., Jeong, H.-H., Yu, K. J., & Song, Y. M. (2026). Flexible active-matrix dual-band electrochromic display based on a Gires-Tournois resonator for human and robotic vision. npj Flexible Electronics. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-026-00648-z
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1038/s41528-026-00648-z
Keywords: electrochromic display, Gires-Tournois resonator, PEDOT:PSS, near-infrared, flexible electronics, thin-film transistor, active matrix, reflective display, robotic vision, low power, Flexible, active-matrix
News Source: Denise Maddox. (October 28, 2026). Flexible dual-band electrochromic display delivers visible and near-infrared vision. Scienmag.
