Phase-Adjusting Layers in the Multilayer Reflector of a Jewel Beetle

Autor: Haruhisa Iida, Shuichi Kinoshita, Shinya Yoshioka, Takahiko Hariyama
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. 81:054801
ISSN: 1347-4073
0031-9015
DOI: 10.1143/jpsj.81.054801
Popis: In this study, we investigated the iridescence of a jewel beetle Chrysochroa fulgidissima , which is one of the most common examples of structural color produced by multilayer optical interference. We performed detailed measurements and analyses of angle- and polarization-dependent reflection spectra and found that a few layers located near the elytron surface play an important role in the coloration mechanism: they adjust the phases of light waves reflected from the lower part of the multilayer structure such that the waves interfere constructively with the reflection at the top surface. This phase adjustment is crucial to the coloration mechanism since the top surface contributes the most to the overall reflection owing to a large refractive-index difference between air and the cuticle. We also found that the jewel beetle exhibits a green-color-dominant iridescence: the blue color observed at oblique angles looks much weaker than the green color at small angles. We elucidated the physical origins of thi...
Databáze: OpenAIRE