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Plasmonic colour generation

Nature Reviews Materials volume 2, Article number: 16088 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Plasmonic colours are structural colours that emerge from resonant interactions between light and metallic nanostructures. The engineering of plasmonic colours is a promising, rapidly emerging research field that could have a large technological impact. We highlight basic properties of plasmonic colours and recent nanofabrication developments, comparing technology-performance indicators for traditional and nanophotonic colour technologies. The structures of interest include diffraction gratings, nanoaperture arrays, thin films, and multilayers and structures that support Mie resonances and whispering-gallery modes. We discuss plasmonic colour nanotechnology based on localized surface plasmon resonances, such as gap plasmons and hybridized disk–hole plasmons, which allow for colour printing with sub-diffraction resolution. We also address a range of fabrication approaches that enable large-area printing and nanoscale lithography compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technologies, including nanoimprint lithography and self-assembly. Finally, we review recent developments in dynamically reconfigurable plasmonic colours and in the laser-induced post-processing of plasmonic colour surfaces.

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Figure 1: Colours from diffractive gratings, subwavelength gratings and enhanced-optical transmission structures.
Figure 2: Colours from localized Mie resonances in dielectric and metal–dielectric core–shell nanoparticles.
Figure 3: Colours from plasmonic resonances in nanoantenna arrays.
Figure 4: Plasmonic subwavelength-resolution printing.
Figure 5: Large-scale patterning and plasmonic colour printing.
Figure 6: Dynamic tuning of plasmonic colours.
Figure 7: Laser post-processing of plasmonic surfaces.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Commission through the FP7MMP Integrated project PLAST4FUTURE (NMP2-SE-2012-314345) and the International Network Programme of the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (ALSCIN 5132-00070B). J.K.W.Y. acknowledges financial support from A*STAR Joint Council Office (Grant No. 14302FG092), SUTD International Design Centre (IDC) and SUTD Digital Manufacturing and Design Centre (DManD). S.I.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council, Grant 341054 (PLAQNAP). The Rice group acknowledges support from the Robert A. Welch Foundation under grants C-1664 (S.L.), C-1222 (P.N.) and C-1220 (N.J.H.), and the Army Research Office under grant W911NF-12-1-0407.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark

    Anders Kristensen

  2. Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore, 487372

    Joel K. W. Yang

  3. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore, 138634

    Joel K. W. Yang

  4. Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, DK-5230, Denmark

    Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi

  5. Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, 77005, Texas, USA

    Stephan Link, Peter Nordlander & Naomi J. Halas

  6. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Rice University, Houston, 77005, Texas, USA

    Stephan Link, Peter Nordlander & Naomi J. Halas

  7. Department of Physics, Rice University, Houston, 77005, Texas, USA

    Peter Nordlander & Naomi J. Halas

  8. Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark

    N. Asger Mortensen

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Kristensen, A., Yang, J., Bozhevolnyi, S. et al. Plasmonic colour generation. Nat Rev Mater 2, 16088 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.88

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