Physics of Structural
Coloration
Jean Pol Vigneron
Académie Royale des Sciences,
des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de
Belgique
Cinnyris prigoginei
Prigogine's Sunbird
Facultés Universitaires
Notre-Dame de la Paix,
Namur
Research Center in Physics of
Matter and Radiation (PMR)
Life-induced Photonics Group
Chrysina resplendens
(Cedric Vandenbem)
Avoiding iridescence
Infrared mirror
Green mirror
Red mirror
More on this : see Cedric Vandenbem
Bouligand structure: circular polarization
Cocytia d’Urvillei (Arctiidae)
Irian-Jaya
Indonesia
Clear-winged
day-flying moth
There is, in the island of Java, a moth which succeeds in solving an
extraordinarily difficult and important problem : antireflection and self-cleaning
(see photovoltaic panels, which should not reflect light and keep clean)
Clear wings surface structure
Array of upright cylinders
on the wing surfaces.
Purpose ?
• (1) Anti-reflection coating
• (2) Superhydrophobicity
Natural superhydrophobicity
The wings achieve a
low light reflectance
AND hydrophobic
(self-cleaning)
properties with the
same optimized
structure