In yesterday's post, we explored how shifting perspectives can lead to new solutions, approaches, and strategies in fashion. This simple mindset can also spark fresh inspiration for fashion collections. One common mistake that first-year fashion and textile design students (but also some uninspired and lazy designers…) make is blindly following trends instead of seeking ideas from other fields, including those that may seem more complex or harder to grasp.
It's understandable that terms from scientific or mathematical disciplines might feel intimidating, but that's precisely when we should shift our perspective. Take a deep breath, remind yourself that you can handle it, and embrace the challenge of reading an essay or research paper that could unlock new ideas. The imagery accompanying such studies can indeed inspire fresh approaches to surface designs, prints, and structures.
For example, the site of the Tokyo Institute of Technology features fascinating researches.
In August, researchers from the institute published in Science Advances an essay entitled "Photonic Topological Phase Transition Using Material Phase Change".
This breakthrough, by a collaborative team formed by researchers at NTT Corporation (NTT) and at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, was made in the field of light technology.
The team demonstrated a photonic topological phase transition using a material phase transition, discovering how it is possible to change the way light moves through special materials by changing the structure of the material. This could lead to new and exciting ways to build small, flexible circuits that use light (instead of electricity) to work and that would be essential for future photonic information processing technologies.
The study of how different materials behave has long fascinated scientists, and some even won Nobel Prizes for their discoveries (the discovery of hidden topological properties in materials won indeed a Nobel Prize in 1996). These studies include "topological properties," which describe how things like electrons or light waves behave in different structures. A special type of material, called a photonic topological insulator, can block or direct the movement of light in ways that could be useful for creating tiny devices to process information.
Photonic topological insulators (PTIs) work with light, but it's hard to control them after they're made because their structure is fixed, so their topological properties can't be changed. But this team found a way to do so using Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), a well-known phase-change material (used in DVDs), which can switch between crystalline (solid and ordered) and amorphous (disordered) states when exposed to heat or light. The GST's changing refractive index (how much it bends light) enables the photonic topological phase transition, making it possible to alter the behavior of light without changing the structure itself.
By carefully designing a hybrid structure of GST and silicon layers, the team was able to control the Chern number, a crucial topological property that determines how light behaves in the material. When GST changed phase, the researchers observed a band inversion, confirming the photonic topological phase transition.
This discovery could help create advanced light-based photonic circuits that can be easily changed and reconfigured by controlling the GST material. These circuits could be used in future technology for faster and more energy-efficient ways to process information, especially in fields like communication and computing. The research could therefore lead to advancements in optical memory devices and photonics-based data processing, promising exciting developments for both research and real-world applications.
Fashion-wise this research could inspire us to think about new wearable materials that adapt and change. Yet the most intriguing part for fashion designers are probably the patterns in the figures illustrating the research, in particular the ones showing the design of GST-loaded topological photonic crystals, the process of developing a precise two-step electron-beam lithography technique, combining ultra-fine lithography with accurate position alignment, and the microscope images confirming that the distinct sub-micron patterns for the silicon and GST layers were successfully fabricated as proposed.
The next step for the team? Explore more ways to control how light moves through these materials, which could open new doors in the development of flexible and powerful light-based technologies. The next step for those of us working in fashion is instead moving from this essay to experiment and play with shapes, structures and the transformative possibilities of materials. If this particular study doesn't speak to you, don't worry, the internet is vast - find another source of inspiration, or even better, connect with a scientist to collaborate with.
Comments