Metal free structural colours via disordered nanostructures with nm resolution and full CYMK colour spectrum

Structural colours represents a research area of great interest, due to a wide field of application ranging from micro-security to biomimetic materials. At present metallic substrate are heavily employed and only a partial spectra of colours can be realised. We propose a novel, metal-free technology that exploits the complex scattering from a disordered three-dimensional dielectric material on a silicon substrate. We reproduce experimentally the full spectrum of CMYK colours, including variations in intensity. Our resolution lies in the nm range, limited only by the electron beam lithography fabrication process. We demonstrate that this technique is extremely robust, suitable for flexible and reusable substrates. Full of these notable proprieties these nano-structures fits perfectly with the requirements of a real-world technology.