Photoreversible current ON/OFF switching by the photoinduced bending of gold-coated diarylethene crystals

Gold-coated diarylethene crystals exhibited photoreversible bending upon alternating irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. The bending behavior can be well explained by the extended bimetal model, which we propose here. Moreover, we have demonstrated that it can be used as an actual electrical circuit photoswitch.