Structural color three-dimensional printing by shrinking photonic crystals

Yejing Liu, Hao Wang, Jinfa Ho, Ryan C. Ng, Ray J. H. Ng, Valerian H. Hall-Chen, Eleen H. H. Koay, Zhaogang Dong, Hailong Liu, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Julia R. Greer and Joel K. W. Yang ()
Additional contact information
Yejing Liu: Singapore University of Technology and Design
Hao Wang: Singapore University of Technology and Design
Jinfa Ho: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
Ryan C. Ng: California Institute of Technology
Ray J. H. Ng: Singapore University of Technology and Design
Valerian H. Hall-Chen: University of Oxford
Eleen H. H. Koay: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
Zhaogang Dong: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
Hailong Liu: Singapore University of Technology and Design
Cheng-Wei Qiu: National University of Singapore
Julia R. Greer: California Institute of Technology
Joel K. W. Yang: Singapore University of Technology and Design

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The coloration of some butterflies, Pachyrhynchus weevils, and many chameleons are notable examples of natural organisms employing photonic crystals to produce colorful patterns. Despite advances in nanotechnology, we still lack the ability to print arbitrary colors and shapes in all three dimensions at this microscopic length scale. Here, we introduce a heat-shrinking method to produce 3D-printed photonic crystals with a 5x reduction in lattice constants, achieving sub-100-nm features with a full range of colors. With these lattice structures as 3D color volumetric elements, we printed 3D microscopic scale objects, including the first multi-color microscopic model of the Eiffel Tower measuring only 39 µm tall with a color pixel size of 1.45 µm. The technology to print 3D structures in color at the microscopic scale promises the direct patterning and integration of spectrally selective devices, such as photonic crystal-based color filters, onto free-form optical elements and curved surfaces.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12360-w

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