Structural Color Control of CoFeB-Coated Nanoporous Thin Films

• Main Authors: Xiaomin Zhu, Cuicui Zhao, Weiwei Zhang, Bo Zhang, Mengtao Sun, Xinhua Chen, Vladimir I. Belotelov, Yujun Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: anodic aluminum oxide (AAO); CoFeB; magnetron sputtering deposition; thin film; structural color
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/9/1123

Unlike color dyes, structural colors only slightly fade during long-term usage. Here, structural colors were controllably achieved by constructing CoFeB photonic crystal layers on the surface of a nanoporous aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate by magnetron sputtering deposition. The resulting material showed a wide visible spectral response and achieved structural color control with a high resolution, high color purity, and saturation. The angle-dependent color changes of CoFeB@AAO films were further investigated by changing the incident light angle. The simulation results of the model are consistent with the experiments, which is significant in practical applications. This strategy may have great potential applications for solid structure color coatings, anti-counterfeiting and security, information storage, and electromagnetic sensors.