Tunable structural color inspired byPapilio blumeibutterfly

Abstract

ABSTRACT 2D photonic-crystal structures of Papilio blumei butterfly were constructed and the corresponding reflectance spectra were simulated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The structural color of butterfly depends on the thickness of film and the size of air hole. Hence, we can obtain any color by manipulating the parameters of FDTD simulation model. Keywords: Structural color, butterfly, photonic crystals, thin-film. 1. INTRODUCTION In previous studies, many insects, birds, fishes, flowers, leaves, fruits and some marine animals display iridescent or metal-like color effects resulting from its nanostructure. The st ructural color arises from multilayer reflection, diffraction, scattering of light or photonic crystal-like structures in the insects [1-4]. In recent years, butterfly wings have been paid great attention due to their attractive iridescence. The optical properties are closely related to its structure. The swallowtail butterflies in the family Papilionidae are particularly renowned for their striking color. The attractive iridescence green band and cyan tail of the wing on Papilio blumei butterfly are chosen as experiment samples in this study. The wing scales of them consist of regular multilayer stack that are made from alternating chitin and chitin-air layers, as shown in Fig. 1 (a) (b). In this study, the graceful structure of the scales on the Papilio blumei butterfly wings was simulated by FDTD simulations can help us to understand the mechanism responsible for structural color on butterfly’s wing. The variable dimension of structure leads to different reflectance spectrum. In addition, expected structural colors (red, green, blue) can be achieved by adjusting the 2D photonic crystal model. It’s useful to reflective display application.