Multi-color modulation based on bump structures of phase-change material for color printing

Abstract Multi-color generation based on phase change materials has recently attracted much attention due to its potential applications in color printing, displays and data visualization domains. However, non-binary colors are difficult to be achieved due to limited stacking design and/or multi-color modulation principle. In this article, we reported a simple thin-film stack design, namely “Glass substrate/Sb2Te3/ZnS-SiO2”, which can produce fruitful colors by tailoring bump size and height of the stacked structure induced by laser irradiations. Different kinds of color images have further been obtained in the designed thin-film stack, which has potential applications in color printing and color and style preservation of precious cultural relics, etc.