Colors generated by tunable plasmon resonances and their potential application to ambiently illuminated color displays

In this paper the plasmonic resonances of coated nano-particles are explored as a means for realizing tunable pigments. These pigments are investigated for their potential applicability to color display technologies. The colorimetric properties of these pigments are derived from the optical scattering spectra of the coated nano-particles. Several configurations of these pigments are investigated for their utility in realizing an ambiently illuminated color display. Their operation is contrasted to current color liquid crystal displays, which use color filters and polarization dependent effects and require internal illumination to render colors. Simulated performance characteristics of such displays are presented.