Sculpted-multilayer optical effects in two species of Papilio butterfly

Vukusic, Peter; Sambles, J. R.; Lawrence, Christopher R.; Wakely, Gavin

doi:10.1364/ao.40.001116

Cited by 129 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In N. chinensis several optically absorbing layers close to the ventral wing surface form a highly absorbing background; in the Lepidoptera the iridescent scales generally show little, if any, optical absorption. In a few cases, such scale absorption is limited to the lower part of the iridescent scale (Vukusic et al 2001); in several others, it is believed to be distributed throughout the scale (Vukusic et al 1999). Substantial optical absorption in Lepidoptera is created by diffuse pigmentation throughout the wing membrane itself and by the brown or dark scales on the reverse side of the wing (Nijhout 1991).…”

Section: Proc R Soc Lond B (2004)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkable iridescence in the hindwings of the damselflyNeurobasis chinensis chinensis(Linnaeus) (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Vukusic

Wootton

Sambles

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The bright green dorsal iridescence of the hindwings of Neurobasis chinensis chinensis males, very rare in Odonata, is known to play a significant role in their courtship behaviour. The mechanism responsible for such high contrast and spectrally pure colour has been investigated and found to be optical interference, producing structural colour from distinct laminations in the wing membrane cuticle. The ventral sides of these iridescent wings are dark brown in colour. In a single continuous membrane of wing cuticle, this is an effect that requires a specialized structure. It is accomplished through the presence of high optical absorption (k = 0.13) within two thick layers near the ventral surface of the wing, which leads to superior dorsal colour characteristics. By simultaneously fitting five sets of optical reflectivity and transmissivity spectra to theory, we were able to extract very accurate values of the complex refractive index for all three layer types present in the wing. The real parts of these are n = 1.47, 1.68 and 1.74. Although there is often similarly significant dorsal and ventral colour contrast in other structurally coloured natural systems, very few system designs comprise only a single continuous membrane.

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Section: Proc R Soc Lond B (2004)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkable iridescence in the hindwings of the damselflyNeurobasis chinensis chinensis(Linnaeus) (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Vukusic

Wootton

Sambles

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…However, when their constituent RI distributions have ordered or quasi-ordered sub-micrometre domains, then wavelength-dependent coherent scattering can occur. This can give rise to bright structural colours (Mason 1926(Mason , 1927Ghiradella et al 1972;Schultz & Rankin 1985;Vukusic et al 2000Vukusic & Sambles 2003;Kinoshita & Yoshioka 2005;Prum 2006; Kinoshita et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical methods for investigating structural colours in biological systems

Vukusic

Stavenga

2009

J. R. Soc. Interface.

163

153

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Many biological systems are known to use structural colour effects to generate aspects of their appearance and visibility. The study of these phenomena has informed an eclectic group of fields ranging, for example, from evolutionary processes in behavioural biology to micro-optical devices in technologically engineered systems. However, biological photonic systems are invariably structurally and often compositionally more elaborate than most synthetically fabricated photonic systems. For this reason, an appropriate gamut of physical methods and investigative techniques must be applied correctly so that the systems' photonic behaviour may be appropriately understood. Here, we survey a broad range of the most commonly implemented, successfully used and recently innovated physical methods. We discuss the costs and benefits of various spectrometric methods and instruments, namely scatterometers, microspectrophotometers, fibre-optic-connected photodiode array spectrometers and integrating spheres. We then discuss the role of the materials' refractive index and several of the more commonly used theoretical approaches. Finally, we describe the recent developments in the research field of photonic crystals and the implications for the further study of structural coloration in animals.

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“…We also show that a conceptual variation to the natural structure leads to enhanced optical properties. Our approach offers improved efficiency, versatility and scalability compared with previous approaches [4][5][6] .The intricate structures found on the wing scales of butterflies are difficult to copy, and it is particularly challenging to mimic the colour mixing effects displayed by P. blumei and P. palinurus 7,8 . The wing scales of these butterflies consist of regularly deformed multilayer stacks that are made from alternating layers of cuticle and air, and they create intense structural colours (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intricate structures found on the wing scales of butterflies are difficult to copy, and it is particularly challenging to mimic the colour mixing effects displayed by P. blumei and P. palinurus 7,8 . The wing scales of these butterflies consist of regularly deformed multilayer stacks that are made from alternating layers of cuticle and air, and they create intense structural colours (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mimicking the colourful wing scale structure of the Papilio blumei butterfly

et al. 2010

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The brightest and most vivid colours in nature arise from the interaction of light with surfaces that exhibit periodic structure on the micro-and nanoscale. In the wings of butterflies, for example, a combination of multilayer interference, optical gratings, photonic crystals and other optical structures gives rise to complex colour mixing. Although the physics of structural colours is well understood, it remains a challenge to create artificial replicas of natural photonic structures [1][2][3] . Here we use a combination of layer deposition techniques, including colloidal self-assembly, sputtering and atomic layer deposition, to fabricate photonic structures that mimic the colour mixing effect found on the wings of the Indonesian butterfly Papilio blumei. We also show that a conceptual variation to the natural structure leads to enhanced optical properties. Our approach offers improved efficiency, versatility and scalability compared with previous approaches [4][5][6] .The intricate structures found on the wing scales of butterflies are difficult to copy, and it is particularly challenging to mimic the colour mixing effects displayed by P. blumei and P. palinurus 7,8 . The wing scales of these butterflies consist of regularly deformed multilayer stacks that are made from alternating layers of cuticle and air, and they create intense structural colours (Fig. 1). Although the P. blumei wing scales have previously been used as a template for atomic layer deposition (ALD) 9 , such an approach is not suitable for accurate replication of the internal multilayer structure on large surface areas.The bright green coloured areas on P. blumei and P. palinurus wings result from a juxtaposition of blue and yellow-green light reflected from different microscopic regions on the wing scales. Light microscopy reveals that these regions are the centres (yellow) and edges (blue) of concavities that are 5-10 mm wide, clad with a perforated cuticle multilayer 7 (Fig. 1d,e). For normal light incidence, the cuticle-air multilayer shows a reflectance peak at a wavelength of l max ¼ 525 nm, which shifts to l max ¼ 477 nm for light incident at an angle of 458. Light from the centre of the cavity is directly reflected, whereas retro-reflection of light incident onto the concavity edges occurs by double reflection off the cavity multilayer (Fig. 1g). This double reflection induces a geometrical polarization rotation 10 . If light that is polarized at an angle c to the initial plane of incidence is retro-reflected by the double bounce, it will pick up a polarization rotation of 2c and the intensity distribution through collinear polarisers is therefore given by cos 2 (2c). This leads to an interesting phenomenon: when placing the sample between crossed polarizers, light reflected off the centres of the cavities is suppressed, whereas retro-reflected light from four segments of the cavity edges is detected 10,11 (Fig. 1d, right). In microstructures without this double reflection, both the colour mixing and polarization conversion are absent...

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Sculpted-multilayer optical effects in two species of Papilio butterfly

Cited by 129 publications

References 17 publications

Remarkable iridescence in the hindwings of the damselflyNeurobasis chinensis chinensis(Linnaeus) (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Remarkable iridescence in the hindwings of the damselflyNeurobasis chinensis chinensis(Linnaeus) (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Physical methods for investigating structural colours in biological systems

Mimicking the colourful wing scale structure of the Papilio blumei butterfly

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