Manipulating the Orientations of the Electric and Magnetic Dipoles Induced in Silicon Nanoparticles for Multicolor Display

Artificial control of colors based on plasmonic and dielectric nanostructures is not only interesting for fundamental research, but also important for practical applications. Apart from spatial resolution, chromaticity, angular independence, and dynamical color‐tuning have emerged as the most desirable functions for structural color. Here, it is shown theoretically that the orientations of the electric or magnetic dipoles induced in a silicon nanoparticle can be manipulated by using an evanescent wave excited by s‐ or p‐polarized light, and it is experimentally demonstrated that the scattering light color can be controlled by simply varying the polarization of the illumination light. It is revealed that the excitation of a silicon nanoparticle using an evanescent wave is equivalent to that of using both the incident and reflected light, enabling the manipulation of the scattering light color by controlling the orientations of the electric and magnetic dipoles. In addition, an enhanced scattering light intensity and a completely dark background are achieved by using evanescent wave excitation. More importantly, a color‐tuning display with a spatial resolution close to the optical diffraction limit, and a good chromaticity on an array of silicon nanopillars fabricated on a silica substrate is demonstrated, which are compatible with the current fabrication technology of silicon chips. The scattering light color of a silicon nanoparticle can be controlled by using evanescent wave excitation in which the orientations of the induced electric and magnetic dipoles can be manipulated by changing the polarization of the incident light. A color‐tuning display with a spatial resolution close to the optical diffraction limit and a good chromaticity is realized on regular arrays of silicon nanopillars fabricated on a silica substrate.