Stretchable structural colors with polarization dependence using lithium niobate metasurfaces.

Area of Science:

• Metasurface optics
• Nanophotonics
• Materials science

Background:

• Metasurfaces enable novel optical functionalities by structuring materials at the nanoscale.
• Controlling light reflection and color generation is crucial for display and anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate independently tunable biaxial color pixels using nanosquare dimers.
• To achieve high-efficiency, narrow-bandwidth color reflection with polarization control.
• To explore the tunability of metasurfaces through mechanical strain.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of lithium niobate (LiNbO3) nanodimers on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate.
• Utilizing surface lattice resonances to excite magnetic dipole (MD) resonance and suppress other multipolar resonances.
• Investigating the linear-polarization dependent reflection properties and strain-induced color tuning.

Main Results:

• Achieved pixels displaying a full color range via a linear-polarization dependent reflection mode.
• Demonstrated a single, narrow reflection peak (<9 nm bandwidth) with up to 99% reflective efficiency.
• Showcased continuous color tuning over ~150 nm of the visible spectrum by applying up to 40% strain to the PDMS substrate.

Conclusions:

• Independently tunable biaxial color pixels based on LiNbO3 nanodimers are successfully demonstrated.
• The metasurface exhibits high performance in color generation and tunability via mechanical strain.
• Potential applications include advanced color displays, data storage, and anti-counterfeiting solutions.