Silicon rich nitride: a platform for controllable structural colors

High refractive index dielectric materials like silicon rich nitride (SRN) are critical for constructing advanced dielectric metasurfaces but are limited by transparency and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process compatibility. SRN’s refractive index can be adjusted by varying the silicon to nitride ratio, although this increases absorption, particularly in the blue spectrum. Dielectric metasurfaces, which utilize the material’s high dielectric constant and nano-resonator geometry, experience loss amplification due to resonance, affecting light reflection, light transmission, and quality factor. This study explores the impact of varying the silicon ratio on structural color applications in metasurfaces, using metrics such as gamut coverage, saturation, and reflection amplitude. We found that a higher SRN ratio enhances these metrics, making it ideal for producing vivid structural colors. Our results show that SRN can produce a color spectrum covering up to 166 % of the sRGB space and a resolution of 38,000 dots per inch. Fabricated samples vividly displayed a parrot, a flower, and a rainbow, illustrating SRN’s potential for high-resolution applications. We also show that SRN can provide a better CIE diagram coverage than other popular metasurfaces materials. These findings highlight the advantages of SRN for photonic devices, suggesting pathways for further material and application development.