Colorizing stainless steel surface by femtosecond laser induced micro/nano-structures

[Display omitted] ► We demonstrate colorizing of stainless steel by laser induced periodic microholes. ► We also colorized stainless steel by femtosecond laser induced micro/nano-gratings. ► Variety of colors (single/multi-color) is produced on stainless steel surfaces. ► Color of the multi-color metals depends on incident/azimuthal angle of light. ► We explain the mechanism that facilitates color changes on stainless steel surfaces. We demonstrate colorizing of stainless steel surfaces by femtosecond laser induced periodic microholes and micro/nano-gratings on sample surfaces. Suitable adjustment of laser induced features on stainless steel surfaces offer a variety of colors, including multi-color, gold, and black. We also report that multi-color metal surfaces exhibit diverse colors when they are exposed to the incident light of different incident and azimuthal angles. Finally, we briefly explain how the femtosecond laser induced micro/nano scale features introduce different colors on stainless steel surfaces.