Highly Reproducible, Bio-Based Slab Photonic Crystals Grown by Diatoms.

ABSTRACT: Slab photonic crystals (PhCs) are photonic structures used in many modern optical technologies. Fabrication of these components is costly and usually involves eco-unfriendly methods, requiring modern nanofabrication techniques and cleanroom facilities. This work describes that diatom microalgae evolved elaborate and highly reproducible slab PhCs in the girdle, a part of their silicon dioxide exoskeletons. Under natural conditions in water, the girdle of the centric diatom Coscinodiscus granii shows a well-defined optical pseudogap for modes in the near-infrared (NIR). This pseudogap shows dispersion toward the visible spectral range when light is incident at larger angles, eventually facilitating in-plane propagation for modes in the green spectral range. The optical features can be

SUBMITTER: Goessling JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7237861 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature