Brochosome-inspired binary metastructures for pixel-by-pixel thermal signature control

In nature, nano/micro-structured materials are adopted by various species to generate colors or achieve camouflage. Here, inspired by leafhopper-generated brochosomes, we design binary metastructures composed of pixel twins to achieve pixelated thermal signature control at the microscale. In the infrared range, the pixel twins exhibit distinct emissivities, creating thermal counterparts of '0-1' binary states for storing and displaying information. In the visible range, the engineered surface morphology of the pixel twins enables similar scattering behaviors, rendering the pixel twins visually indistinguishable, which achieves the camouflage of stored information. Compared to the previous work based on plasmonic holographic metasurfaces, the brochosome-like pixel twins are thermally driven, and their structure-enabled functions do not rely on permittivities of any specific material. The unique combination of visible camouflage and infrared display provides a systemic solution to the spatial control of thermal signatures, and has important implications for optical security, anticounterfeiting, and data encryption.