Abstract
State-of-the-art pixels for high-resolution microdisplays utilize reflective surfaces on top of electrical backplanes. Each pixel is a single fixed color and will usually only modulate the amplitude of light. With the rise of nanophotonics, a pixel’s relatively large surface area (~10 μm2), is in effect underutilized. Considering the unique optical phenomena associated with plasmonic nanostructures, the scope for use in reflective pixel technology for increased functionality is vast. Yet in general, low reflectance due to plasmonic losses, and sub-optimal design schemes, have limited the real-world application. Here we demonstrate the plasmonic metapixel; which permits high reflection capability whilst providing vivid, polarization switchable, wide color gamut filtering. Ultra-thin nanostructured metal-insulator-metal geometries result in the excitation of hybridized absorption modes across the visible spectrum. These modes include surface plasmons and quasi-guided modes, and by tailoring the absorption modes to exist either side of target wavelengths, we achieve pixels with polarization dependent multicolor reflection on mirror-like surfaces. Because the target wavelength is not part of a plasmonic process, subtractive color filtering and mirror-like reflection occurs. We demonstrate wide color-range pixels, RGB pixel designs, and in-plane Gaussian profile pixels that have the potential to enable new functionality beyond that of a conventional ‘square’ pixel.
Highlights
State-of-the-art pixels for high-resolution microdisplays utilize reflective surfaces on top of electrical backplanes
We demonstrate new reflective pixel designs based on plasmonic nanostructure MIM geometries which offer highly reflective, polarization dependent, color filtering in the visible spectrum (400–700 nm)
Anisotropic geometry enables polarization dependency, and shrinking features to sub-wavelength, leads to Figure 2. 1D grating plasmonic-MIM pixel: (a) Schematic of 1D MIM grating with common grating parameters defined: grating widths, wg, grating period, Λ, duty cycle, Γ = wg/Λ. (b) Shows the simulated reflection response of a typical 1D plasmonic MIM pixel with two resonant absorption modes, with the associated field profiles shown in (c)
Summary
State-of-the-art pixels for high-resolution microdisplays utilize reflective surfaces on top of electrical backplanes. A single pixel typically consists of linear polarizers, RGB pigment-based color filters and an electrically switchable waveplate (liquid crystal layer) sitting on top of a mirror-quality reflector (a square aluminum electrode ~10 μm2) connected to electronic circuitry[1, 3] The purpose of this surface is purely to reflect the incoming light. Structures using materials incompatible with industrial manufacturing techniques and long-term use in real-world devices, such as photoresist[28, 30]; and focusing on the patterning of a fixed image on the surface (lack of reconfigurability)[28, 30], which is completely ineffectual for any real world display system that must dynamically update We overcome these shortcomings through multimodal absorption in nanostructured plasmonic metal-insulator-metal (MIM) pixel designs: metapixels. The dimensions and materials utilized means the designs are highly compatible with a range of methods for larger scale manufacturing, including extreme-UV photolithography and nanoimprint lithography[33–35]
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