EAPSI:Investigating the Physics Underlying the Brilliant Structural Color of Morpho Butterflies for Reproduction and Incorporation in Electronics

Wong Evangeline, Upland CA

Investigators

Abstract

Integrated circuit technology and optical communication drive the information revolution, but sustaining continued progress of the information revolution requires merging the two into one monolithic technology. Since silicon (Si) is the material used to manufacture integrated circuits, silicon photonics, defined as photonics using Si-based materials and Si-compatible processes, can be the solution. Investigating the unique physical mechanism by which the Morpho butterfly generates its vivid color will inform the design of Si photonics. This project will contribute to the current effort to study the physical processes behind the brilliant colors of Morpho butterflies and to recreate them on a large scale for practical applications. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Jung Shin at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, who specializes in research of materials and structures that can enable realization of Si photonics. Unlike the chemical process of selective wavelength absorption found in pigments, dyes, and paints, the Morpho butterfly?s structural colors emerge via a physical process: interference effects as light interacts with the nanostructures on the surface of a material. Structural colors are mainly based on elementary optical processes, such as thin-layer interference, diffraction grating, and light scattering, but these processes mix together in natural systems to produce complex optical phenomena that have yet to be fully understood. Multi-cluster numerical simulation using Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) modeling will elucidate the photophysics generating the Morpho butterfly?s colors. A fabrication process involving nanoimprinting lithography, sputter deposition, and dry etching of multilayer samples will be conducted. Optical characterization of the samples, and then comparison with the results from the previous numerical simulation, will reveal the effectiveness of the fabrication technique in replicating the color-generating nanostructures in the Morpho butterfly. The NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.