Dynamic Color Displays Using Stepwise Cavity Resonators

Abstract

High-resolution multicolor printing based on pixelated optical nanostructures is of great importance for promoting advances in color display science. So far, most of the work in this field has been focused on achieving static colors, limiting many potential applications. This inevitably calls for the development of dynamic color displays with advanced and innovative functionalities. In this Letter, we demonstrate a novel dynamic color printing scheme using magnesium-based pixelated Fabry-Pérot cavities by gray scale nanolithography. With controlled hydrogenation and dehydrogenation, magnesium undergoes unique metal and dielectric transitions, enabling distinct blank and color states from the pixelated Fabry-Pérot resonators. Following such a scheme, we first demonstrate dynamic Ishihara plates, in which the encrypted images can only be read out using hydrogen as information decoding key. We also demonstrate a new type of dynamic color generation, which enables fascinating transformations between black/white printing and color printing with fine tonal tuning. Our work will find wide-ranging applications in full-color printing and displays, colorimetric sensing, information encryption and anticounterfeiting.

Defining Deep‐Subwavelength‐Resolution, Wide‐Color‐Gamut, and Large‐Viewing‐Angle Flexible Subtractive Colors with an Ultrathin Asymmetric Fabry–Perot Lossy Cavity

“…In fact, structural colors in the form of multilayer structures widely exist in nature, e.g., insects, fishes, plant leaves, and algae, the colorful skins or surfaces of which are all made of multilayers . A typical multilayer‐based structural color is the Fabry–Perot (F–P)‐type cavity, comprising two metallic mirrors separated by an optically transparent dielectric spacer, where the generation of structural colors is originated from the interference between multiple reflected light beams within the cavity . Although conventional F–P‐cavity‐based structural colors are relatively easy to realize in experiment, they are sensitive to the angle of incidence .…”

Reconfigurable metasurface hologram by utilizing addressable dynamic pixels

“…More importantly, Mg has emerged as an active material once it is hydrogenated towards dielectric magnesium-hydride (MgH2) or dehydrogenated back Mg by loading oxygen, yielding high contrast in its optical properties [19]. Therefore, the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics of Mg nanoantennas are ideally suited for creating dynamic plasmonic systems [20][21][22]. Recently, Li et al demonstrated this principle by building a Mg/Au based holographic metasurfaces.…”

Active Color Control in a Metasurface by Polarization Rotation

“…It implies that a whole new sample should be fabricated to produce different color or temporally varying color. As an alternative, adoption of mechanical transformation [17][18][19][20][21], chemical transition [22][23][24], phase change material [25][26][27][28] and electrochromic polymer [29] provide dynamic color printing. Nevertheless, dynamic color printing can be realized in a far simpler system by polarization control without involving any external stimuli [30][31][32].…”