Photonic nanoarchitectures in butterflies and beetles: valuable sources for bioinspiration

Nature began developing photonic nanoarchitectures millions of years before humankind. Often, in the living world, color is a communication channel that may influence the chance of the individual surviving as well as the chance to reproduce. Therefore, natural color‐generating structures are highly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Laser & photonics reviews 2011-01, Vol.5 (1), p.27-51
Main Authors: Biró, L.P., Vigneron, J.P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
beetle
bioinspired
biomimetic
butterfly
color
elytra
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
nanoarchitectures
Optical materials
Optics
photonic band gap
Photonic bandgap materials
Photonic crystal
Physics
scale
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Summary:Nature began developing photonic nanoarchitectures millions of years before humankind. Often, in the living world, color is a communication channel that may influence the chance of the individual surviving as well as the chance to reproduce. Therefore, natural color‐generating structures are highly optimized by many millennia of evolution. In this review, a survey is presented of the development of natural photonic crystal‐type nanoarchitectures occurring in butterflies and beetles from the standpoint of physics and materials science, covering the past ten years. One‐, two‐, and three‐dimensional structures are reviewed, emphasizing the role that disorder, or irregularity, may play in natural nanoarchitectures to achieve certain visual effects. The characterization, modeling methods, and rapidly growing number of bioinspired or biomimetic applications are discussed. Often, in the living world, color is a communication channel that may influence the chance of the individual surviving as well as the chance to reproduce. Therefore, natural color‐generating structures are highly optimized by many millennia of evolution. Here, a survey is presented of the development of natural photonic crystal‐type nanoarchitectures occurring in butterflies and beetles from the standpoint of physics and materials science.
ISSN:1863-8880
1863-8899
1863-8899
DOI:10.1002/lpor.200900018