Bioinspired Infrared Sensing Materials and Systems

Abstract

Bioinspired engineering offers a promising alternative approach in accelerating the development of many man-made systems. Next-generation infrared (IR) sensing systems can also benefit from such nature-inspired approach. The inherent compact and uncooled operation of biological IR sensing systems provides ample inspiration for the engineering of portable and high-performance artificial IR sensing systems. This review overviews the current understanding of the biological IR sensing systems, most of which are thermal-based IR sensors that rely on either bolometer-like or photomechanic sensing mechanism. The existing efforts inspired by the biological IR sensing systems and possible future bioinspired approaches in the development of new IR sensing systems are also discussed in the review. Besides these biological IR sensing systems, other biological systems that do not have IR sensing capabilities but can help advance the development of engineered IR sensing systems are also discussed, and the related engineering efforts are overviewed as well. Further efforts in understanding the biological IR sensing systems, the learning from the integration of multifunction in biological systems, and the reduction of barriers to maximize the multidiscipline collaborations are needed to move this research field forward.

Bioinspired transfer method for the patterning of multiple nanomaterials

“…There are a wide variety of applications, such as gas sensors, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, microuidics, and surface plasmon resonance technologies, inspired by buttery wings with bright colors and natural periodic structures. 38,39 The multifunctional nature of M. menelaus buttery wings, which are lightweight, hydrophobic, mechanically strong, photoresponsive and thermoresponsive, is achieved due to the elaborated photonic nanostructures in the ridges of the scales. As shown in Fig.…”

Highly Efficient Mechanoelectrical Energy Conversion Based on the Near‐Tip Stress Field of an Antifracture Slit Observed in Scorpions

“…There is an urgent need for developing new methods to achieve highly efficient conversion of other types of energy to electrical energy . The piezoelectric‐based industrial mechanoelectrical transducing micro/nanosystems (ind‐MTMs), harvesting tiny mechanical energy from working environment and then converting into electrical energy, have been closely studied for advanced technological applications in mechanical energy harvesting, ultrasensitive mechanical sensors, self‐powered portable and wearable electronics, electronic skins, etc.…”

Butterfly Wing Inspired High Performance Infrared Detection with Spectral Selectivity

“…Any alteration to either structure or material of the nanostructures of butterfly wing scales will generate sensitive optical readout, which includes wavelength shift or intensity change of the reflected light from the wing scales or both. Based on this principle, different types of sensors, including chemical, pH, magnetic, thermal, and uncooled infrared (IR) sensors, have been developed using butterfly wing scale structures. Regarding IR detection, Pris et al first explored an uncooled IR sensor using butterfly wing scales doped with single‐walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and achieved both high sensitivity and fast heat‐sink‐free IR response .…”

“…Any alteration to either structure or material of the nanostructures of butterfly wing scales will generate sensitive optical readout, which includes wavelength shift or intensity change of the reflected light from the wing scales or both. Based on this principle, different types of sensors, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] including chemical, [5][6][7] pH, [8] magnetic, [9] thermal, [10] and uncooled infrared (IR) sensors, [11][12][13] have been in both the response of relative reflectance and also the signalto-noise ratio at the maximum heat-sink-free speed tested. [11] Furthermore, by using vapors with IR absorbance at specific wavelength regions, wavelength selective IR detection is also demonstrated in this work ( Figure 1b).…”