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Photonic structures in biology

Author

Listed:
  • Pete Vukusic

    (Thin Film Photonics, School of Physics, Exeter University)

  • J. Roy Sambles

    (Thin Film Photonics, School of Physics, Exeter University)

Abstract

Millions of years before we began to manipulate the flow of light using synthetic structures, biological systems were using nanometre-scale architectures to produce striking optical effects. An astonishing variety of natural photonic structures exists: a species of Brittlestar uses photonic elements composed of calcite to collect light, Morpho butterflies use multiple layers of cuticle and air to produce their striking blue colour and some insects use arrays of elements, known as nipple arrays, to reduce reflectivity in their compound eyes. Natural photonic structures are providing inspiration for technological applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Pete Vukusic & J. Roy Sambles, 2003. "Photonic structures in biology," Nature, Nature, vol. 424(6950), pages 852-855, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:424:y:2003:i:6950:d:10.1038_nature01941
    DOI: 10.1038/nature01941
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    Cited by:

    1. Fillion, R.M. & Riahi, A.R. & Edrisy, A., 2014. "A review of icing prevention in photovoltaic devices by surface engineering," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 797-809.
    2. Ahmet F. Demirörs & Erik Poloni & Maddalena Chiesa & Fabio L. Bargardi & Marco R. Binelli & Wilhelm Woigk & Lucas D. C. Castro & Nicole Kleger & Fergal B. Coulter & Alba Sicher & Henning Galinski & Fr, 2022. "Three-dimensional printing of photonic colloidal glasses into objects with isotropic structural color," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Wenhe Xie & Yuan Ren & Fengluan Jiang & Xin-Yu Huang & Bingjie Yu & Jianhong Liu & Jichun Li & Keyu Chen & Yidong Zou & Bingwen Hu & Yonghui Deng, 2023. "Solvent-pair surfactants enabled assembly of clusters and copolymers towards programmed mesoporous metal oxides," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Xue Chen & Mengfen Che & Weidong Xu & Zhongbin Wu & Yung Doug Suh & Suli Wu & Xiaowang Liu & Wei Huang, 2024. "Matrix-induced defects and molecular doping in the afterglow of SiO2 microparticles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Jinrong Liu & Mathias Nero & Kjell Jansson & Tom Willhammar & Mika H. Sipponen, 2023. "Photonic crystals with rainbow colors by centrifugation-assisted assembly of colloidal lignin nanoparticles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Shanks, Katie & Senthilarasu, S. & Mallick, Tapas K., 2016. "Optics for concentrating photovoltaics: Trends, limits and opportunities for materials and design," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 394-407.
    7. Amanda M Franklin & Matthew B Applegate & Sara M Lewis & Fiorenzo G Omenetto, 2017. "Stomatopods detect and assess achromatic cues in contests," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28(5), pages 1329-1336.
    8. Maria E McNamara & Derek E G Briggs & Patrick J Orr & Sonja Wedmann & Heeso Noh & Hui Cao, 2011. "Fossilized Biophotonic Nanostructures Reveal the Original Colors of 47-Million-Year-Old Moths," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-8, November.
    9. Katja Kuitunen & Alexander Kovalev & Stanislav N Gorb, 2014. "Sex-Related Effects in the Superhydrophobic Properties of Damselfly Wings in Young and Old Calopteryx splendens," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-11, February.
    10. Bagnall, Darren M. & Boreland, Matt, 2008. "Photovoltaic technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4390-4396, December.
    11. Ke, Yujie & Tan, Yutong & Feng, Chengchen & Chen, Cong & Lu, Qi & Xu, Qiyang & Wang, Tao & Liu, Hai & Liu, Xinghai & Peng, Jinqing & Long, Yi, 2022. "Tetra-Fish-Inspired aesthetic thermochromic windows toward Energy-Saving buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).

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