Structural Colour from Optical Phenomena Caused by Interference with a Thin or Multilayer Film, Photonic Nanocrystals, Light Scattering and Diffraction Grating Effect

Abstract

The paper presents the Ion Plating Plasma Assisted technology that is applied in the area of surface functionalization with the purpose of preserving the structural colour and relics. The interferometric structural colours applied on titanium surfaces were used and tested together with nano-transparent and at the same time achromatic films on the very old ceramic artifact. In order to test the surface restoration, some titanium metal and ceramic supports were used: Firstly, an additive with a metallic beam constructed from titanium parts was used, but also an old tile from the 19th century, having the characteristic of a strong chromatic valence and of a mixed porous and glazed surface. In the experiment, a reactive device with ionic plate spray magnetron was used, capable of operating in Argon or Oxygen environments, for the purpose of depositing TiO₂ and SiO₂. First, several tests were performed using two plasma treatments in order to define the optimal methods for processing. By depositing TiO₂ nano-film on irregular Ti surfaces it was possible to regenerate the light direction based on the surfaces that change its colour and the transparent achromatic quality coatings could be obtained with the help of SiO₂ coating. Important in these procedures is the high flexibility of ion plating technology processing. It has been established after several attempts that the treatment of IPO SiO₂ surfaces is better and therefore preferable in the case of restoration and preservation of ancient historical plates when the optimized procedure with Ion Beam Electron Microscopy, performed on the porous structure of the plates, was used for final testing, which confirmed the increased flexibility and efficiency of the innovative IPPA technology