All-silicon subwavelength structural coloration fabricated through proton beam writing and reactive ion etching

Abstract All-dielectric nano-structures have recently gained much attention in meta-material related research. Experimental observations of Mie-scattering resonances in high-refractive-index dielectric nanoparticles led to a rapid advancement of this research field. Due to its high-refractive-index and significant technological involvements, silicon in particular has emerged as a prevailing material. Here, we demonstrate an all-silicon subwavelength structural coloration technique harnessing the resonant interaction between white light and individual silicon nano-object. Furthermore, square matrices with a resolution of more than 50,000 dpi were achieved using a 500  ×  500  nm 2 color pixel. The 500 nm period was to avoid significant coupling between adjacent silicon nano-objects, thus allowing us to investigate the scattering colors of individual all-silicon nano-resonators.