Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
Optical response of a disordered bicontinuous macroporous structure in the longhorn beetle Sphingnotus mirabilis
1Department of Physics, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
We studied the structural and optical properties of scales in the longhorn beetle Sphingnotus mirabilis. Structural characterizations revealed that the scale interior possesses a disordered bicontinuous macroporous structure, resembling a phase-separated structure obtained by spinodal decomposition. Its optical response was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Our results show that this structure has interesting optical properties due to the existence of only short-range order and the lack of well-defined local structures.

