Photonic Structures in Biology: A Possible Blueprint for Nanotechnology
Nature has had millions of years to optimize photonic crystals - an endeavour mankind only really began in the 1980s. Often, we attempt to mimic and expand upon nature’s designs in creating photonic structures that meet our technology-driven needs. While this strategy can be fruitful in fabricating...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.intechopen.com/journals/nanomaterials_and_nanotechnology/photonic-structures-in-biology-a-possible-blueprint-for-nanotechnology |
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| Summary: | Nature has had millions of years to optimize
photonic crystals - an endeavour mankind only really
began in the 1980s. Often, we attempt to mimic and
expand upon nature’s designs in creating photonic
structures that meet our technology-driven needs. While
this strategy can be fruitful in fabricating novel
architectures, one has to keep in mind that nature
designed and optimized these structures for specific
applications (e.g., colouration, camouflaging, signalling),
but certainly not for use in photonic chips and optical
circuits. To take full advantage of biological structures as
blueprints for nanotechnology, it is important to
understand the purpose and development of natural
structural colours. In this review, we will discuss
important aspects of the design, formation and evolution
of the structures embedded in beetle exoskeletons that are
responsible for their striking colouration. In particular,
we will focus on the purpose of structural colours for
camouflaging, mimicry and signalling. We will discuss
their evolutionary and ecological development and
compare the development of beetles with and without
structural colours. Examples of non-colour-related
structural functionalities will also be introduced and
briefly discussed. Finally, a brief overview of nature’s
synthesis strategies for these highly evolved structures
will be given, with particular focus on membrane
assembly. |
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| ISSN: | 1847-9804 |