Light manipulation principles in biological photonic systems

Starkey, Timothy A.; Vukusic, Peter

doi:10.1515/nanoph-2013-0015

Cited by 57 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 132 publications

(147 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Brilliantly coloured, structurally based reflectance can be observed in a range of flora and fauna [1][2][3][4]. These colours are often iridescent, saturated and brighter than colours resulting from the more common colour-production method of wavelength-selective absorption by pigments [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wrinkles enhance the diffuse reflection from the dragonflyRhyothemis resplendens

Nixon

Orr

Vukusic

2015

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The dorsal surfaces of the hindwings of the dragonfly Rhyothemis resplendens (Odonata: Libellulidae) reflect a deep blue from the multilayer structure in its wing membrane. The layers within this structure are not flat, but distinctly 'wrinkled', with a thickness of several hundred nanometres and interwrinkle crest distances of 5 mm and greater. A comparison between the backscattered light from R. resplendens and a similar, but un-'wrinkled' multilayer in the damselfly Matronoides cyaneipennis (Odonata: Calopterygidae) shows that the angle over which incident light is backscattered is increased by the wrinkling in the R. resplendens structure. Whereas the reflection from the flat multilayer of M. cyaneipennis is effectively specular, the reflection from the wrinkled R. resplendens multilayer spans 1.47 steradians (equivalent to +408 for all azimuthal angles). This property enhances the visibility of the static wing over a broader angle range than is normally associated with a smooth multilayer, thereby markedly increasing its conspicuousness.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wrinkles enhance the diffuse reflection from the dragonflyRhyothemis resplendens

Nixon

Orr

Vukusic

2015

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, a modern analogy is sometimes drawn between periodic animal multilayer reflectors and one-dimensional photonic crystals [32,33]. The spectral bandwidth of the high reflection region is associated with the ‘photonic band-gap’, which describes the spectral region where light cannot propagate within the structure [34,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disordered animal multilayer reflectors and the localization of light

Jordan

Partridge

Roberts

2014

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multilayer optical reflectors constructed from ‘stacks’ of alternating layers of high and low refractive index dielectric materials are present in many animals. For example, stacks of guanine crystals with cytoplasm gaps occur within the skin and scales of fish, and stacks of protein platelets with cytoplasm gaps occur within the iridophores of cephalopods. Common to all these animal multilayer reflectors are different degrees of random variation in the thicknesses of the individual layers in the stack, ranging from highly periodic structures to strongly disordered systems. However, previous discussions of the optical effects of such thickness disorder have been made without quantitative reference to the propagation of light within the reflector. Here, we demonstrate that Anderson localization provides a general theoretical framework to explain the common coherent interference and optical properties of these biological reflectors. Firstly, we illustrate how the localization length enables the spectral properties of the reflections from more weakly disordered ‘coloured’ and more strongly disordered ‘silvery’ reflectors to be explained by the same physical process. Secondly, we show how the polarization properties of reflection can be controlled within guanine–cytoplasm reflectors, with an interplay of birefringence and thickness disorder explaining the origin of broadband polarization-insensitive reflectivity.

show abstract

“…Optical absorption is negligible in the chitin layers (k = 0.03) but its presence in the melanoprotein layers (k = 0.14) noticeably infl uences the structure's appearance. Owing to optical dispersion in both materials, with the magnitude of both n and k increasing for shorter wavelengths, these values are averages; they are typical of those found in beetles, and also in other biological systems besides [17]. The TEM images (Fig.…”

Section: Biological Multilayers In Frog-leg Beetlesmentioning

confidence: 68%

Photonic architectures in beetles: twists and iridescence

McDonald¹,

Starkey²,

Vukusic³

2014

Int. J. DNE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The order Coleoptera is, by any standard, a prodigious showcase for the extraordi nary creativity and fl exibility of the evolutionary process. Concurrent with a desire to overcome the present limitations of optical coating technologies, a number of novel and elegant refl ectance mechanisms have been discovered in the realms of biological systems including 3D photonic crystals and quasi-ordered coherent scattering arrays. Beetles, in particular, possess many desirable and, crucially, tunable properties from a biomimetic perspective. Here, we provide a detailed discussion of two coleopteran structures, namely 1D multilayers and helically arranged 'Bouligand' structures, and consider their putative entomological functions and potential applications in bioinspired technologies.

show abstract

Light manipulation principles in biological photonic systems

Cited by 57 publications

References 132 publications

Wrinkles enhance the diffuse reflection from the dragonflyRhyothemis resplendens

Wrinkles enhance the diffuse reflection from the dragonflyRhyothemis resplendens

Disordered animal multilayer reflectors and the localization of light

Photonic architectures in beetles: twists and iridescence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About