Color Electronic Textiles and Manufacturing Method Thereof

Manufacturing Technology for Multicolor Electronic Textiles Using Atomic Layer Deposition Thin-Film Interference

This technology produces colorful electronic textiles by alternately depositing titanium oxide and aluminum oxide layers onto a platinum conductive surface on cotton, silk, or synthetic fabric substrates using atomic layer deposition. The color of the textile is controlled through thin-film interference effects based on the thickness of the oxide multilayers.

Conventional electronic textiles, made by inserting conductors into threads or applying conductive materials via wet processes or physical deposition, were limited to metallic, black, or gray hues due to the inherent color of the conductors and surface reflection/scattering. This made it difficult to meet the design diversity required for apparel and wearable products.

This technology achieves structural color without dyes by using atomic layer deposition—which repeats precursor adsorption, purging, and water reaction—to build uniform, nanometer-scale oxide multilayers. By adjusting the total oxide layer thickness between 30 and 500 nm, desired colors can be selected while maintaining the conductive metal layer. Applicable to smart clothing, wearables, and military camouflage, it satisfies both electrical functionality and fashion design in a single textile.

‍

‍

Key Features:

• A step of alternately depositing different first and second metal oxide layers on a conductive metal surface using atomic layer deposition
• An atomic layer deposition step of injecting and adsorbing a metal oxide precursor, removing unadsorbed precursors, reacting with water, and removing unreacted materials
• A multilayer structure using 20nm-thick platinum as the conductive metal, with titanium oxide and aluminum oxide layers repeatedly deposited in sequence
• A manufacturing method for color electronic textiles that performs water reactions at 130°C, removes unreacted materials via nitrogen purging, and forms conductive metal on cotton, silk, or synthetic fabric surfaces

‍

This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education for the development of functional electronic fibers using atomic layer deposition.

‍