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Plasmonic Colour Printing by Light Trapping in Two-Metal Nanostructures
Keith Wilson1, Cristian A Marocico1, Esteban Pedrueza-Villalmanzo1
1School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D2, Ireland.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 4, 2019
Summary
This study reveals how light trapping in two-metal nanostructures generates vibrant, angle-insensitive structural colours. Copper nanodiscs with an aluminum back-reflector offer the widest colour gamut for printing and anti-counterfeit applications.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics
- Nanophotonics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Structural colour generation using plasmonic nanostructures is crucial for advanced applications like non-bleaching printing and anti-counterfeiting.
- Existing methods often face challenges with bleaching or complex fabrication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physics of two-metal plasmonic nanostructures for vibrant structural colour generation in reflection.
- To explore the potential of these structures for scalable, robust, and angle-insensitive colour applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of two-metal plasmonic nanostructures comprising metallic nanodiscs atop a metallic back-reflector, separated by a polymer film.
- Analysis of light trapping as the primary mechanism for colour generation.
- Systematic investigation of different metal combinations (gold, silver, aluminum, copper) and polymer thicknesses to achieve wide colour gamuts.
Main Results:
- Light trapping within the nanostructures is identified as the key mechanism for colour generation.
- Wide colour gamuts were observed, tunable by polymer layer thickness.
- Structural colours demonstrated insensitivity to viewing angle.
- Copper nanodiscs with an aluminum back-reflector yielded the broadest colour gamut.
Conclusions:
- The explored two-metal plasmonic nanostructure offers a simple, scalable, and robust platform for generating vibrant structural colours.
- The use of different metals and tunable polymer layers provides significant control over colour output.
- These findings pave the way for advanced applications in printing, decoration, and security features.
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