采用磁控调整和光固化光子晶体法实现结构色印刷

Structural Colour Printing using a Magnetically Tunable and Lithographically Fixable Photonic Crystal

大自然中的许多生物,如蝴蝶和孔雀,可显示出独特绚丽的色彩,这种依靠光与物体表面周期性纳米结构的相互作用而产生的色彩,被称为"结构色"。然而,即使是目前世界上最先进的纳米加工技术仍然存在速度慢、价格昂贵和无法扩展的问题,难以模仿自然界中结构色的纳米结构。本文基于采用无掩膜光刻系统固化的新材料实现颜色连续可调,从而能在几秒钟内制作由多重结构色构成的高清晰图案。同时,发明了一种命名为"M-油墨"的新材料,其颜色可以通过磁场改变内部纳米结构周期而得到调整,也可通过光化学固定聚合物网络中的纳米结构而达到锁色效果。此外,本文也研发出一种实现结构色印刷的光子晶体。这种简单、可控、可扩展的结构色印刷方案的提出将对大众消费品的色彩生成产生重大影响。

Many creatures in nature, such as butterflies and peacocks, display unique brilliant colours, known as ＇structural colours＇ , which result from the interaction of light with periodic nanostructures on their surfaces. Mimicking such nanostruc- tures found in nature, however, requires state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques that are slow, expensive and not scala- ble. Herein, we demonstrate high-resolution patterning of multiple structural colours within seconds, based on successive tuning and fixing of colour using a single material along with a maskless lithography system. We have invented a material called ＇M-Ink＇ , the colour of which is tunable by magnetically changing the periodicity of the nanostructure and fixable by photochemically immobilizing those structures in a polymer network. We also demonstrate a flexible photonic crystal for the realization of structural colour printing. The simple, controllable and scalable structural colour printing scheme presented may have a significant impact on colour production for general consumer goods.