Vivid plasmonic color under ambient light

Abstract

We report a novel nanoimprinted polarization-independent plasmonic pixel device utilizing different metals (Ag, Al or Au) exhibiting fade-resistant, vivid coloration under unpolarized light achieved with symmetric cross-shaped nanoantenna-hole structures. The spectral and color responses show minimal sensitivity to the polarization state of the incident light, both in reflection and transmission. The devices also have good tolerance to variations in viewing angle. Various colors are generated by simply adjusting the armlength of the cross and through choice of metal. Among all the devices, those fabricated using Ag demonstrated the best performance with 80% reflection and 12% transmission ef..