Diffractive Pigment Blend Neutral White Background
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing achromatic diffractive pigment compositions using conventional metal-dielectric flakes provide a gray or black background color and iridescent diffractive effect, whereas all-dielectric diffractive pigment flakes struggle to achieve a neutral white background color and white diffractive effect, which is desirable for preserving underlying colors and exhibiting a rainbow effect at different viewing angles.
Innovation Solution
A diffractive pigment blend is created by mixing different types of all-dielectric diffractive pigment flakes with varying optical designs and diffraction structures, including multilayer and encapsulated structures, to achieve a combined neutral white background color and diffractive effect, utilizing dielectric materials like zinc sulfide, titanium dioxide, and silicon dioxide, and diffraction gratings with specific line frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional metal-dielectric pigment flakes are used, then the pigment composition provides a gray or black background color and iridescent diffractive effect, but it dulls or obscures the underlying color
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material composition parameter from metal-dielectric to all-dielectric layers, which fundamentally alters the optical properties. The all-dielectric structure with controlled layer thicknesses and refractive indices provides a white background color that does not obscure underlying colors, while still maintaining diffractive effects
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite material structures with multiple dielectric layers of different refractive indices (e.g., TiO2, SiO2, ZnS) to achieve both the white background color and diffractive effects simultaneously, combining the benefits of different material properties in a layered composite structure
2Object-affected harmful factors
If all-dielectric diffractive pigment flakes are used, then the pigment composition is substantially transparent and allows overprinting, but achieving a neutral white background color and white diffractive effect is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention systematically varies parameters including layer thicknesses (e.g., quarter-wave, half-wave, or other optical thicknesses), refractive indices of different dielectric materials, and the number of dielectric layer pairs to achieve the desired white background color and white diffractive effect while maintaining transparency
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the pigment flake structure have different optical properties - the dielectric layers are designed with specific local thicknesses and material compositions to provide both the white background color through thin-film interference and the white diffractive effect through the diffractive structure, with each layer optimized for its specific function
3Device complexity
If a single type of all-dielectric diffractive pigment flake is used, then the optical design can be simplified, but achieving a combined neutral white diffractive effect is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the diffractive pigment into multiple flake types, each with a specific optical design centered at a particular design wavelength. By blending these segmented flake types, the invention achieves a combined neutral white diffractive effect that would be difficult to obtain from a single flake type, while each individual flake type maintains a relatively simple optical design
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The diffractive pigment blend provides a color-neutral background that preserves underlying colors and exhibits a white diffractive effect, showing all colors of the rainbow at different viewing angles, with a combined diffractive effect that is additive and neutral under both diffuse and direct illumination.
Implementation Method 1
Light incident on such a pigment flake is diffracted into its color components, i.e., angularly dispersed according to wavelength, by the diffractive structure, so that the pigment flake appears to have different colors at different viewing angles
Implementation Method 2
As a result of thin-film interference, a particular color component of light incident on such a pigment flake is reflected by the dielectric layers and another color component is transmitted, so that the pigment flake appears to have a color referred to as a background color
Data Source
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AI summary
A diffractive pigment blend or composition is provided which includes a plurality of groups of all-dielectric diffractive pigment flakes. The pigment flakes of each group each include one or more dielectric layers for providing a background color, at least one of which includes a diffractive structure for providing a diffractive effect. Each group of pigment flakes provides a different diffractive effect, and the diffractive pigment blend or composition provides a combined diffractive effect that is a combination of the different diffractive effects. The combined diffractive effect may be a neutral white diffractive effect or may include a reversal in color travel.