Reversible optical data storage and encryption enabled by phase-change and hydrogel integration.

Asad Nauman, Guli Gulinihali, Tristen Moncada, Muhammad Waleed Khalid, Tristan Tjussardi, Yeshaiahu Fainman, Abdoulaye Ndao

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Article in Light, science & applications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

Photonic AI for deeper understanding of the Planck epoch.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026
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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Asad Nauman *Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-4318-6751

Guli Gulinihali *Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Tristen MoncadaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Muhammad Waleed KhalidDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-9672-5494

Tristan TjussardiDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Yeshaiahu FainmanDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Abdoulaye NdaoDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. a1ndao@ucsd.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phase-change materials and hydrogels, which are emerging as versatile, low-cost, high-speed materials with large-area processing capabilities, are key building blocks for next-generation optical information storage and multi-level encryption. Here, we introduce a hybrid platform that synergistically integrates directly laser-written antimony trisulfide (Sb₂S₃) with a humidity-responsive azido-grafted carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-N₃) hydrogel, enabling the fabrication of a full-color image multiplexing. The Sb₂S₃ medium layer enables non-volatile, rewritable optical data via laser-induced amorphous-crystalline transitions, while the hydrogel introduces UV-programmable cavity modulation for data writing and consequently, achieving a humidity-dependent tunable full-color image response. Together, these dynamic and reversible processes enable independent encoding and retrieval of multi-level information, resulting in a transmissive multiplexed optical storage device. This multi-programmable layer approach establishes a new paradigm for multifunctional optical devices, unlocking opportunities in secure data storage, anti-counterfeiting displays, and environmental sensing.

Identifiers

PMID42151115

DOI10.1038/s41377-026-02330-5

PMCPMC13184341

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