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Updated: Feb 14, 2026
Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
Photonic crystal micro-pixelation and additive color mixing in weevil scales
Ramneet K Nagi1, Danielle E Montanari, Michael H Bartl
1Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States of America. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States of America.
Abstract:
The origin of the brilliant near angle-independent coloration of the weevil Eupholus chevrolati was investigated by a combination of optical and electron microscopy tools, photonic band structure calculations, and color mixing analysis. Optical microscopy and scanning micro-spectroscopy revealed the presence of micrometer-sized red, yellow, green, and blue reflective pixels covering the entire exoskeleton of the weevil. Scanning electron microscopy in combination with focused ion beam milling showed that each micro-pixel consisted of a diamond-based photonic crystal structure and the different reflective colors were the result of different orientations of the photonic crystal. Color mixing analysis was used to study the collective behavior of the reflective micro-pixels. A pointillist, additive color-mixing scheme of the reflective photonic crystal micro-pixels was determined as the origin of the weevil's bright and near angle-independent yellow-green coloration.
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