Dynamic Control of Plasmonic Colors by Voltage Actuation MEMS Cantilevers for Optical Display Applications

Abstract: Conventional optical displays using ITO (indium tin oxide) and LC (liquid crystal) materials present a lot of challenges in terms of long-term sustainability. We show here how it is possible to generate a cost effective and CMOS compatible fast and full range electrically controlled RGB color display by combining transmission based plasmonic metasurfaces with MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) technology, using only two common materials: Aluminum and silicon oxide. White light is filtered into red, green, and blue components by plasmonic metasurfaces made of aluminum nanohole arrays, and the transmission through each color filter is modulated by MEMS miniaturized cantilevers fabricated with aluminum and silicon oxide on top of the color filters. We show that the relative transmission of a color subpixel can be freely modulated from 35% to 100%. Our pixels can also operate well above 800Hz, enabling future ultrafast displays. Our work provides a road to future circular economic goals by exploiting advances in structural colors and MEMS technologies to innovate optical displays.