Tailoring iridescent visual appearance with disordered resonant metasurfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modal-based model to design and understand iridescent visual effects in disordered resonant metasurfaces, enabling new aesthetic appearances with robust, easy-to-fabricate nanostructures.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel modal-based tool that accurately predicts and explains the iridescent visual effects of disordered resonant metasurfaces, facilitating their design for aesthetic applications.

Findings

Combination of plasmonic and Fabry-Perot resonances creates unique iridescent effects.

Disordered metasurfaces can produce only two distinct colors with specific configurations.

The model reveals the physical mechanisms behind the visual appearance of colloidal disordered monolayers.

Abstract

The nanostructures of natural species offer beautiful visual appearances with saturated and iridescent colors and the question arises whether we can reproduce or even create new appearances with man-made metasurfaces. However, harnessing the specular and diffuse light scattered by disordered metasurfaces to create attractive and prescribed visual effects is currently inaccessible. Here, we present an interpretive, intuitive and accurate modal-based tool that unveils the main physical mechanisms and features defining the appearance of colloidal disordered monolayers of resonant meta-atoms deposited on a reflective substrate. The model shows that the combination of plasmonic and Fabry-Perot resonances offers uncommon iridescent visual appearances, differing from those classically observed with natural nanostructures or thin-film interferences. We highlight an unusual visual effect exhibiting only two distinct colors and theoretically investigate its origin. The approach can be useful in the design of visual appearance with easy-to-make and universal building blocks having a large resilience to fabrication imperfections, and potential for innovative coatings and fine-art applications.