Up Scalable Full Colour Plasmonic Pixels with Controllable Hue, Brightness and Saturation

Abstract

It has long been the interests of scientists to develop ink free colour printing technique using nano structured materials inspired by brilliant colours found in many creatures like butterflies and peacocks. Recently isolated metal nano structures exhibiting preferential light absorption and scattering have been explored as a promising candidate for this emerging field. Applying such structures in practical use, however, demands the production of individual colours with distinct reflective peaks, tunable across the visible wavelength region combined with controllable colour attributes and economically feasible fabrication. Herein, we present a simple yet efficient colour printing approach employing sub-micrometer scale plasmonic pixels of single constituent metal structure which supports near unity broadband light absorption at two distinct wavelengths, facilitating the creation of saturated colours. The dependence of these resonances on two different parameters of the same pixel enables controllable colour attributes such as hue, brightness and saturation across the visible spectrum. The linear dependence of colour attributes on the pixel parameters eases the automation; which combined with the use of inexpensive and stable aluminum as functional material will make this colour design strategy relevant for use in various commercial applications like printing micro images for security purposes, consumer product colouration and functionalized decoration to name a few.

Covert Images Using Surface Plasmon‐Mediated Optical Polarization Conversion

“…Specific plasmonic techniques vary in terms of which additional desirable features they possess, as reviewed by Kristensen et al Targets for overt printed pixel methods include tunability across the visible spectrum, vibrant colors, durability, high resolution pixels, and viewing angle insensitivity . Depending on the intended application and mode of operation, polarization independence may be considered a performance indicator, while alternatively a polarization‐dependent response may add functionality . We present a device architecture that extends the functionality of a polarization‐dependent plasmonic response to the encoding and revelation of a full‐color invisible image.…”

“…The grating‐based structure offers chromatic agility, scalability, and the prospect of compatibility with manufacture using replication techniques . The use of aluminum is favored owing to its broad plasmonic spectral range, stability, low cost, and abundance . As a plasmonic material, aluminum has gained interest recently due to these properties.…”

Aluminium metal–insulator–metal structure fabricated by the bottom-up approach

“…The disadvantage of using dyes is their tendency to fade. 1 In addition, using different pigments or dyes for each color can complicate recycling. 2,3 In recent years, research 2,4 and practical applications of structural colors have progressed; expectations are now especially high for plasmonic color.…”

Plasmon resonances in coupled Babinet complementary arrays in the mid-infrared range

“…Several potential applications have been proposed. For instance, the underlying physical phenomena governing the optical response of VCPAs have been exploited in the context of color printing, where individual color pixels can be fabricated beyond the diffraction limit [8][9][10][11]. Furthermore, VCPA were used as plasmonic sensors for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy [1,12,13], surface enhanced infrared spectroscopy [14], surface enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy [15] and plasmonic refractive index sensing [2,3,16].…”