High-resolution plasmonic structural colors from nanohole arrays with bottom metal disks.

We present transmissive plasmonic structural colors from subwavelength nanohole arrays with bottom metal disks for scaled-up manufacturing by nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies are carried out to understand the specific extraordinary optical transmission behavior of the structures with such bottom metal disks. Distinctive colors covering the entire visible spectrum can be generated by changing the structural dimensions of hole arrays in Ag covered by the metal disks. The plasmonic energy hybridization theory is applied to explain the unstable color output with shallow holes so that a large processing window during NIL could be achieved for mass production. A high-resolution of 127,000 dots per inch is demonstrated with potential applications, including color filters and displays, high-resolution color printing, CMOS color imaging, and anti-counterfeiting.