Structural Color Image with Diffraction-Limited Resolution by Dielectric Metasurface

Abstract

In recent years, structural colors using metasurface, which are two-dimensional metamaterials, have attracted much attentions. In particular, structural colors using metallic meta atoms are also called plasmonic colors, and color images with high resolution and a wide viewing angle comparable to the diffraction limit of 100 000 dpi have been realized. However, it has been difficult to achieve both high resolution and high saturation due to metal loss. This paper introduces the principle of dielectric metasurface structure color using single crystalline silicon and the current state of research. Since the dielectric metasurface is thinner than the wavelength and does not use metal, there is almost no loss, and a highly saturated structural color can be realized while maintaining high resolution and a wide viewing angle. Furthermore, by utilizing the oxidation of silicon at high temperature, it becomes possible to change the color later. This can be applied to secret images. The dielectric metasurface is expected to be applied to diffraction-limited resolution color printing with functionality.