Abstract: A method for manufacturing a color-changing product using an electrical connectorization system including an ultrasonic welder includes providing a fabric to the electrical connectorization system where the fabric includes a plurality of color-changing fibers, providing a connection bus to the electrical connectorization system, and operating the electrical connectorization system to move the fabric and the connection bus into engagement with the ultrasonic welder to generate one or more welds between the connection bus and at least a subset of the plurality of color-changing fibers as the fabric and the connection bus pass the ultrasonic welder.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a color-changing fiber includes loading a polymeric material and a thermochromic pigment material into a fiber fabrication machine that comprises an extruder and a spinneret, operating the extruder to provide a molten mixture of the polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material, providing a volume of the molten mixture to the spinneret, and operating the spinneret to coat an electrically conductive core with the molten mixture to form a coating layer around the electrically conductive core to produce the color-changing fiber. The polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material are provided as (a) a first raw material comprising the polymeric material and a second raw material comprising the thermochromic pigment material or (b) a thermochromic pigment and polymer mixture.

Abstract: A spectrometer may include a rotated volume Bragg grating (r-VBG) within a volume of a material having an input face, where the r-VBG reflects portions of input light propagating through the input face that satisfies a Bragg condition for wavelengths within a spectral band, where a period of the r-VBG along the grating vector is chirped to vary along the grating vector to provide that the Bragg condition is satisfied for different wavelengths at different depths, and where a spectrum of the input light is spatially resolved in the reflected portions of the input light by the r-VBG. The spectrometer may further include a multi-pixel detector configured to receive the reflected portions of the input light from the r-VBG, where the multi-pixel detector is configured to output spectral data indicative of the spectrum of the input light within the spectral band.

Abstract: A laser device may include two rotated volume Bragg gratings (r-VBGs), where periods of the two r-VBGs are chirped along the respective grating vectors to vary along the respective grating vectors, where the two r-VBGs are spatially separated along a separation direction oriented at a non-zero angle to the grating vectors, and a gain medium between the two r-VBGs. A first of the two r-VBGs may reflect portions of an input beam from a seed laser source propagating along an incidence direction as a spectrally-spread beam. The gain medium may amplify the spectrally-spread beam when pumped. A second of the two r-VBGs may reflect portions of the spectrally-spread beam satisfying the Bragg condition into the incidence direction, wherein the second r-VBG is positioned to provide that the spectrally-spread beam is spectrally recombined into an output beam.

Abstract: A phase modulation device may include two rotated chirped volume Bragg gratings (r-VBGs), where the two r-VBGs are spatially separated along a separation direction oriented at a nonzero degree angle to the grating vectors, and further includes a phase modulator between the two r-VBGs with a spatially non-uniform phase distribution in a plane orthogonal to the separation direction. A first of the two r-VBGs may reflect portions of an input beam propagating towards the phase modulator as spectrally-spread beam. A second of the two r-VBGs may reflect portions of the spectrally-spread beam satisfying the Bragg condition into the incidence direction, where the second r-VBG is positioned to provide that the Bragg condition is satisfied for different wavelengths at different locations of the first r-VBG along the incidence direction to provide that the spectrally-spread beam is spectrally recombined into an output beam.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric and a connection bus disposed along at least a portion of the fabric. The fabric includes a plurality of color-changing fibers. Each of the plurality of color-changing fibers has an electrically conductive core and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core. The coating includes a color-changing pigment. The connection bus has a multi-layer structure including a metallic foil layer and a film layer. The metallic foil layer forms a weld between at least a subset of the plurality of color-changing fibers so that current can flow through the connection bus and into the electrically conductive core of at least the subset of the plurality of color-changing fibers. The film layer at least partially isolates the weld from a surrounding environment.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric. The fabric includes a first layer and a second layer. The first layer is arranged using at least one fiber. The at least one fiber includes (a) an electrically conductive core and (b) a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core. The second layer is printed onto the first layer. The second layer includes a foreground thermochromic pigment that is selectively activatable by providing an electrical current to the electrically conductive core of the at least one fiber to change at least one of a foreground color or a pattern of the second layer.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric and a connection bus disposed along at least a portion of the fabric. The fabric includes a plurality of color-changing fibers. Each of the plurality of color-changing fibers has an electrically conductive core and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core. The coating includes a color-changing pigment. The connection bus has a multi-layer structure including a metallic foil layer and a film layer. The metallic foil layer forms a weld between at least a subset of the plurality of color-changing fibers so that current can flow through the connection bus and into the electrically conductive core of at least the subset of the plurality of color-changing fibers. The film layer at least partially isolates the weld from a surrounding environment.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric. At least a portion of the fabric includes or is arranged using at least one of (i) a color-changing fiber or (ii) a color-changing yarn including the color-changing fiber. The color-changing fiber includes an electrically conductive core having a first tensile strength, a reinforcement core having a second tensile strength that is greater than the first tensile strength, and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core and the reinforcement core. The coating includes a polymeric material having a color-changing pigment.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric. The fabric includes a first layer and a second layer. The first layer is arranged using at least one fiber. The at least one fiber includes (a) an electrically conductive core and (b) a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core. The second layer is printed onto the first layer. The second layer includes a foreground thermochromic pigment that is selectively activatable by providing an electrical current to the electrically conductive core of the at least one fiber to change at least one of a foreground color or a pattern of the second layer.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric. At least a portion of the fabric includes or is arranged using at least one of (i) a color-changing fiber or (ii) a color-changing yarn including the color-changing fiber. The color-changing fiber includes an electrically conductive core having a first tensile strength, a reinforcement core having a second tensile strength that is greater than the first tensile strength, and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core and the reinforcement core. The coating includes a polymeric material having a color-changing pigment.

Abstract: A color-changing product includes a fabric and a color-changing fiber embroidered into a portion of the fabric. The color-changing fiber includes an electrically conductive core and a coating disposed around the electrically conductive core. The coating includes a thermochromic pigment.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a color-changing fiber includes loading a polymeric material and a thermochromic pigment material into a fiber fabrication machine that comprises an extruder and a spinneret, operating the extruder to provide a molten mixture of the polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material, providing a volume of the molten mixture to the spinneret, and operating the spinneret to coat an electrically conductive core with the molten mixture to form a coating layer around the electrically conductive core to produce the color-changing fiber. The polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material are provided as (a) a first raw material comprising the polymeric material and a second raw material comprising the thermochromic pigment material or (b) a thermochromic pigment and polymer mixture.

Abstract: A color-changing monofilament includes an electrically conductive core and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core. The coating includes a layer of polymeric material having a color-changing pigment.

Abstract: A structured granular optical component for use within an optical apparatus includes a primary optically active component comprising a first optical material and a secondary optically active component contained within the first optically active component and comprising a second optical material different than the first optical material. The first optical material and the second optical material are selected to influence scattering. When incorporated into a macroscopic optical apparatus the structured granular optical component provides enhanced performance.

Abstract: In one embodiment a system and method for harvesting optical energy employ an optical energy harvesting fiber including a core having active elements that absorb light at one wavelength of range of wavelengths and emit light at one or more different wavelengths, a guiding structure that guides the emitted light along a length of the fiber, and a cladding that surrounds the core.