Dual Color Plasmonic Pixels Create a Polarization Controlled Nano Color Palette

Abstract

Color filters based upon nano-structured metals have garnered significant interest in recent years, having been positioned as alternatives to the organic dye-based filters which provide color selectivity in image sensors, as non-fading 'printing' technologies for producing images with nanometer pixel resolution, and as ultra-high-resolution, small foot-print optical storage and encoding solutions. Here, we demonstrate a plasmonic filter set with polarizationswitchable color properties, based upon arrays of asymmetric cross-shaped nano-apertures in an aluminum thin-film. Acting as individual color-emitting nano-pixels, the plasmonic cavityapertures have dual-color selectivity, transmitting one of two visible colors, controlled by the polarization of the white light incident on the rear of the pixel and tuned by varying the critical dimensions of the geometry and periodicity of the array. This structural approach to switchable optical filtering enables a single nano-aperture to encode two information states within the same physical nano-aperture; an attribute we use here to create micro image displays containing duality in their optical information states.

Plasmonic Color Filters as Dual‐State Nanopixels for High‐Density Microimage Encoding

“…Plasmonic particles and filters have also seen applications in these research areas, with the aforementioned image encoding examples having been joined by demonstrations of their use in optical data storage. [23,24,[35][36][37] Here, we show a new utilization of image encoding using polarization multiplexed plasmonic filters, where, unlike previous studies that employed color or position switching in fixed images, [14,38] we show that two arbitrary, full-color images can be encoded into a single array of pixels. Our individual pixels are comprised of asymmetric cross-shaped nanoapertures in a thin film of aluminum.…”

“…[9] By employing asymmetric pixels that can support polarization dependent resonances, further versatility is possible. Individual pixels that can encode two color profiles allow for images which have dual color states [38,39] and stereoscopic properties. [14] Here, we show that it is possible to use a single array of cross-shaped apertures to encode two full-color images into the same unit area, using the same set of nanopixels.…”

Active Color Control in a Metasurface by Polarization Rotation

“…Nevertheless, dynamic color printing can be realized in a far simpler system by polarization control without involving any external stimuli [30][31][32]. A periodic array of cross-shaped nanoantennas [8,[33][34][35], elliptical nanostructures [31,32,36], rectangle nanostructures [37] and a grating pattern [38] have demonstrated active color printing by rotating incident polarization. Here, lack of four-fold symmetry leads to active color generation.…”

Fano resonance in asymmetric-period two-dimensional plasmonic absorbers for dual-band uncooled infrared sensors

“…3 Wavelength-selectivity in IR sensors could also lead to additional applications, including gas analysis, fire detection, hazardous materials recognition, and ultimately multicolor information. However, there has been serious difficulty to date in the construction of pixel-array formats with different detection wavelengths using typical wavelengthselective methods such as filters [4][5][6][7] or optical resonant cavities. 8 Additional optical attachments such as filters lead to complicated systems, which in turn leads to higher costs and a degeneration of the wavelength selectivity because the filters themselves emit IR radiation.…”