2023/06/29 by Clémentine Lipp, Audrey Jacquillat, Daniel Migliozzi +5 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Optical Coatings and Gratings #Photonic Crystals and Applications #Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1021/acsami.3c03353
openalex publication_date 2023/06/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
While interference colors have been known for a long time, conventional color filters have large spatial dimensions and cannot be used to create compact pixelized color pictures. Here we report a simple yet elegant interference-based method of creating microscopic structural color pixels using a single-mask process using standard UV photolithography on an all-dielectric substrate. The technology makes use of the varied aperture-controlled physical deposition rate of low-temperature silicon dioxide inside a hollow cavity to create a thin-film stack with the controlled bottom layer thickness. The stack defines which wavelengths of the reflected light interfere constructively, and thus the cavities act as micrometer-scale pixels of a predefined color. Combinations of such pixels produce vibrant colorful pictures visible to the naked eye. Being fully CMOS-compatible, wafer-scale, and not requiring costly electron-beam lithography, such a method paves the way toward large scale applications of structural colors in commercial products.