Structural colour engineering: from precision nanofabrication to dynamic modulation for intelligent surface applications

Structural colour engineering, which involves the manipulation of light at the nanoscale, has emerged as a foundational technology for next-generation intelligent surfaces, moving beyond static displays to enable adaptive, interactive, and multifunctional applications.Emerging from engineered light-matter interactions, it represents a sustainable and dynamically tunable alternative to conventional pigments with transformative potential across advanced technologies.This review provides a comprehensive examination of recent breakthroughs in the nexus between nanofabrication and dynamic modulation technologies for structural colour engineering.Precision mechanical techniques, such as single-point diamond turning and elliptical vibration cutting, enable deterministic subwavelength optical control using programmable toolpaths.Conversely, nonmechanical approaches, such as multiphoton lithography and laser nanostructuring, facilitate the scalable production of functional metasurfaces.Dynamic systems achieve real-time spectral tuning across the visible spectrum through stimuli-responsive mechanisms, including strain-mediated grating reconfiguration and photothermally actuated nanocomposites.These paradigm-shifting advances underpin transformative applications in three key domains: adaptive optical camouflage with environmentally mimicking chromatic shifts, high-security anti-counterfeiting platforms featuring angularly encrypted imagery, and wearable biosensors.However, persistent challenges remain, particularly in reconciling nanoscale precision with industrial scalability, ensuring operational stability under multiphysics field coupling, and expanding the achievable colour spaces.By establishing fundamental connections among photonic design principles, nanofabrication innovations, and stimuli-responsive materials, this analysis outlines an interdisciplinary roadmap for next-generation intelligent surfaces.This ultimately underscores the unique capacity of structural colouration to enable not only eco-friendly but also adaptive and interactive intelligent surface engineering solutions.