Chromatir
Technologies
Unlocking structural color at the microscale
Structural color at the micro scale
Chromatir produces structurally colored materials based on a simple, yet highly enabling approach that harnesses reflective microstructures. The optics behind the technology was first developed by researchers at Penn State and MIT and published in Nature in 2019.
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No chemical dyes or pigments are required to create color in our materials. Instead, color is produced by optical interference resulting from multiple reflections of light within micro-scale structures.
Leveraging this unique approach, one-of-a-kind iridescent appearances can be engineered from customized microstructure patterns. Films of color-shifting microstructures can produced at scale using existing industrial coating techniques and applied to almost any surface.
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Owning to the wide angular color separation and access to shades and hues beyond traditional “rainbow” holographic effects, our materials can be used for a range of markets including security features, transportation markers, and customized decorative surfaces.
Film sample under fluorescent lighting containing a grid of 5 mm squares reflecting colors produced by different microstructure patterns.