Wide-range Angle-sensitive Plasmonic Color Printing on Lossy-Resonator Substrates

TL;DR

This paper introduces a sustainable, lithography-free plasmonic color printing method using lossy-resonator substrates that enables wide-range, angle-sensitive, and high-resolution vivid color generation for applications like anti-counterfeiting.

Contribution

The work presents a novel, scalable plasmonic color printing technique utilizing a lossy asymmetric Fabry-Pérot resonator with photomodification, expanding color range and control without lithography.

Findings

Achieved vivid RGB colors with a wide color gamut from violet to orange.

Printed high-resolution color samples up to 10 mm2 with 100 μm resolution.

Demonstrated potential applications in laser marking, anti-counterfeiting, and chromo-encryption.

Abstract

We demonstrate a sustainable, lithography-free process for generating non fading plasmonic colors with a prototype device that produces a wide range of vivid colors in red, green, and blue (RGB) ([0-1], [0-1], [0-1]) color space from violet (0.7, 0.72, 1) to blue (0.31, 0.80, 1) and from green (0.84, 1, 0.58) to orange (1, 0.58, 0.46). The proposed color-printing device architecture integrates a semi-transparent random metal film (RMF) with a metal back mirror to create a lossy asymmetric Fabry-P\'erot resonator. This device geometry allows for advanced control of the observed color through the five-degree multiplexing (RGB color space, angle, and polarization sensitivity). An extended color palette is then obtained through photomodification process and localized heating of the RMF layer under various femtosecond laser illumination conditions at the wavelengths of 400 nm and 800 nm. Colorful design samples with total areas up to 10 mm2 and 100 {\mu}m resolution are printed on 300-nm-thick films to demonstrate macroscopic high-resolution color generation. The proposed printing approach can be extended to other applications including laser marking, anti-counterfeiting and chromo-encryption.