Plasmonic cavity-apertures as dynamic pixels for the simultaneous control of colour and intensity

• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8133
• Publication Date: 2015-05-20T11:48:15Z
• Authors: Hansik Yun; Seung-Yeol Lee; Keehoon Hong; Jiwoon Yeom; Byoungho Lee
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; Article

AbstractDespite steady technological progress, displays are still subject to inherent limitations in resolution improvement and pixel miniaturization because a series of colours is generally expressed by a combination of at least three primary colour pixels. Here we propose a structure comprising a metal cavity and a nanoaperture, which we refer to as a cavity-aperture, to simultaneously control the colour and intensity of transmitted light in a single pixel. The metal cavity constructs plasmonic standing waves to organize the spatial distribution of amplitudes according to wavelength, and the nanoaperture permits light with a specific wavelength and amplitude to pass through it, depending on the nanoaperature’s relative position in the cavity and the polarization state of the incident light. Therefore, the cavity-aperture has the potential to function as a dynamic colour pixel. This design method may be helpful in developing various photonic devices, such as micro-imaging systems and multiplexed sensors.