Photonic band gap materials in butterfly scales: A possible source of “blueprints”
JournalName :
Mat. Sci. Eng. B
PubDateYear :
2008
PubDateOther :
Volume :
149
Issue :
StartPage :
259
EndPage :
265
Keywords :
Notes :
Abstract :
The color generating nanoarchitectures in the cover scales of the blue (dorsal)–green (ventral) wing surfaces of the butterfly Albulina metallica
were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. A layered, quasiordered structure was
revealed in both the dorsal and ventral scales, with different order parameters, associated with their different colors. A successful attempt was
made to reproduce the biological structure in the form of a quasiordered composite (SiO/(In & SiO)) multilayer structure using standard thin film
deposition techniques. The position of the reflectance maxima of this artificial structure could be tailored by controlling the size of the In inclusions
through oxidation. Our results show that photonic band gap materials of biologic origin may constitute valuable blueprints for artificial structures.
