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Bio-inspired band-gap tunable elastic optical multilayer fibers
Mathias Kolle1, Alfred Lethbridge, Moritz Kreysing
1Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. mkolle@seas.harvard.edu
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|January 29, 2013
Summary
Inspired by nature, scientists created tunable photonic fibers mimicking fruit structures. These elastic fibers offer tunable spectral filtering, reducing directional color issues found in traditional flat materials.
Area of Science:
- Biomimetics and Materials Science
- Optics and Photonics
Background:
- Nature-inspired photonic structures offer unique optical properties.
- Traditional photonic fibers often suffer from strong directional chromaticity.
- The Margaritaria nobilis fruit exhibits a concentrically-layered photonic structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop mechanically tunable photonic fibers inspired by the Margaritaria nobilis fruit.
- To investigate the spectral filtering capabilities and directional chromaticity of these novel fibers.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of elastic photonic fibers based on the fruit's layered structure.
- Characterization of spectral filtering properties.
- Analysis of directional chromaticity compared to planar Bragg stacks.
- Testing the effect of fiber elongation on spectral reflection.
Main Results:
- The developed fibers exhibit spectral filtering similar to planar Bragg stacks.
- Microscopic curvature reduces the directional chromaticity typical of flat multilayers.
- Fiber elongation induces a significant spectral reflection shift exceeding 200 nm.
Conclusions:
- The biomimetic photonic fibers offer tunable spectral filtering with reduced directionality.
- This approach provides a novel pathway for creating advanced optical materials with tunable band-gaps.
