Printing Structural Colour Like a Newspaper

Structural colour has been extensively covered in Holography & Optical Technology News™, and in other technical publications concerned with nano-optics and optical security. The principle is well established. Namely, colour is generated not by dyes or pigments, but by structures whose dimensions are comparable with, or smaller than, visible wavelengths of light. The latest work described in this article is of interest not only because it demonstrates a new approach to generating structural colour but also because it addresses the difficult transition from finely controlled laboratory structures to continuous, economical production.