Reflective low-sideband plasmonic structural colors

It is demonstrated experimentally that an aluminum (Al) nanowire grating structure on silicon substrates can produce low-side-band monochromatic peak when it reflects colored light in the transverse magnetic (TM) mode. The central wavelength of the reflection is shown to be sensitive to the incident angle, which leads to significant color shifts. Formation of the monochromatic peak is attributed to the surface plasmon resonance on the interface between Al and air, together with remarkable diffraction at shorter wavelengths and strong Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonance absorption by Al-surrounding nano-cavities and silicon substrate at longer wavelengths. In contrast, reflection in transverse electric (TE) mode does not show distinct wavelength selectivity due to the cut-off effect of the nano-cavities. The outstanding characters of the proposed structure with polarization dependence, high sensitivity to incident angle, high color rendering facilitate more compact and sophisticated color-filter-based devices for displays, anti-counterfeit, and sensing applications. In addition, the two-dimensional structure with thin grating thickness and high duty ratio tolerance is relatively easy for fabrication.