Lithography-Free Planar Band-Pass Reflective Color Filter Using A Series Connection of Cavities

In this article, a lithography-free multilayer based color filter is realized using a proper series connection of two cavities that shows relatively high efficiency, high color purity, and a wide view angle. The proposed structure is a metal-insulator-metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIMIS) design. To optimize the device performance, at the first step, transfer matrix method (TMM) modeling is utilized to find the right choices of materials for each layer. Simulations are carried out later on to optimize the geometries of the layers to obtain our desired colors. Finally, the optimized devices are fabricated and experimentally characterized to evaluate our modelling findings. The characterization results of the fabricated samples prove the successful formation of efficient and wide view angle color filters. Unlike previously reported FP based designs that act as a band-stop filter in reflection mode (absorbing a narrow frequency range and reflecting the rest of the spectrum), this design generates a specific color by reflecting a narrow spectral range and absorbing the rest of the spectrum. The findings of this work can be extended to other multilayer structures where an efficient connection of cavities in a tandem scheme can propose functionalities that cannot be realized with conventional FP resonators.