PORTLAND, Ore.--The e-readers of the future could use plasmonic resonator arrays as wide field-of-view color filters for reflected light, according to University of Michigan researchers, who demonstrated how nano-slits could induce the effect, creating reflective displays with vivid colors that can be viewed at nearly any angle--even in bright sunlight.
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) have already demonstrated how to fashion reflective displays that filter light by reinforcing colors of a wavelength proportional to a slit's depth, but the University of Michigan technology varied both the depth and the width of slits in order to induce a localized resonance that funnels specific colors of light into the grooves consistently over a 160-degree field-of-view.
"There is a wide degree of latitude available when modifying the filtered color by changing either the depth or the width," said professor Jay Guo, who performed the work with doctoral candidates Yi-Kuei Ryan Wu and Cheng Zhang at the University of Michigan along with Sandia National Laboratories scientist Andrew Hollowell. "And by only changing the nano-groove's width, while maintaining a constant depth, the fabrication process can be greatly simplified and easily scaled up to large-area devices."
University of Michigan researchers have taken a step toward an elsuve goal--imitating nature by creating a system that reflects light of certain wavelengths to result in brilliant color, such as a peacock's iridescent tail.
Image credit: sxc.hu user doc_
