Stretchable Structural Color Filters Based on a Metal–Insulator–Metal Structure

Abstract Color filters play a big role in a large number of modern technologies such as displays, sensors, and photovoltaics. In particular, structural color filters possess a number of advantages like high tolerance to heat, resistance to photodegradation, and long‐term stability that make them a promising choice for potential future optics‐based applications. In the field of flexible electronics, there are many sensors either reliant on optical phenomena or containing simple optical elements that are demonstrably flexible enough to adhere to uneven, deformable surfaces. Such devices require any integrated components to have similar or better mechanical properties. Here, ultrathin, stretchable, and flexible structural color filters based on a simple metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structure are investigated. The filters are fabricated on 1.3 µm ultrathin substrates, feature a minimum bending radius of 5 µm, and can be made to transmit any color in the visible range. Similar levels of performance to existing freestanding flexible color filters are maintained, with transmission degradation of no more than 2% after 1000 stretching or bending cycles. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating color filters possessing mechanical properties compatible with current state‐of‐the‐art flexible and/or wearable technologies.