Programmable Magnetization of Small‐Scale Soft Kirigami Pads via Interlayer Stress for Light Modulation

ABSTRACT Soft robotic systems often leverage environmental stimuli for actuation, yet these methods suffer from slow responses and limited deformation complexity. Magnetic actuation offers rapid, reversible, and remote control, but its efficacy hinges on precise programming of spatial magnetic domains, a capability constrained by existing fabrication techniques. Here, we present a pre‐deformation‐based magnetization strategy that decouples domain programming from sequential molding and printing. A multilayer film composed of a xerogel layer, laser‐induced graphene electrode, and elastomeric substrate is patterned via laser‐machining to impart programmable pre‐strain across arrays of millimeter‐scale kirigami units. As the pre‐deformed pad is exposed to a saturating magnetic field, tailored magnetic‐domain profiles are imprinted in a single step. This method achieves 100 µm feature resolutions, 20 µm positional accuracies, and batch programming within tens of seconds, surpassing the throughput, accuracy, and uniformity of template‐based or 3D‐printing approaches. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a soft kirigami pad whose diamond‐shaped units rotate under low‐intensity magnetic fields, enabling a smart‐shutter prototype with tunable light‐transmission from 10 % to 62.6 %. The reproducibility and, in principle, scalability of this approach underscore its potential for rapid production of multifunctional soft kirigami‐patterned devices, with applications in adaptive optics, microfluidics, and next‐generation soft robotics.