Color Toning of Mie Resonant Silicon Nanoparticle Color Inks

An ink of silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) having the lowest-order Mie resonance in the visible range can generate noniridescent and nonfading structural colors in a wide area through a painting process. However, the strong wavelength dependence of the radiation pattern and the extinction coefficient make the multiple reflection behavior very complicated, and thus, a reliable tool is necessary to predict the hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflection color. In this work, a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the reflection color of Si NP inks is first developed. The simulation takes into account the scattering and absorption cross-sections, a radiation pattern of an individual NP, and multiple scattering in NP dispersion. The simulation shows that the reflection color of a Si NP ink depends strongly on the concentration because of the wavelength dependence of the multiple scattering behavior. To extend the controllable range of the hue, saturation, and brightness of Si NP inks, a mixture ink with light-absorbing carbon black (CB) NPs is developed. It is experimentally demonstrated that the combination of the Kerker-type back scattering of a Si NP and a broad absorption by a CB NP allows us to control the hue, saturation, and brightness in a wide range and to realize vivid reflection colors under room light.