Abstract

Structural coloration, a color-generation mechanism often found in nature, arises from light–matter interactions such as diffraction, interference, and scattering, with micro- and nanostructured elements. Herein, we systematically study anisotropic, 3D-architected grating structures with polarization-tunable optical properties, inspired by the vivid blue of Morpho butterfly wings. Using two-photon lithography, we fabricate multilayered gratings, varying parameters such as height (through scanning speed and laser power), periodicity, and number of layers. In transmission, significant color transitions from blue to brown were identified when varying structural parameters and incident light polarization conditions (azimuthal angle and ellipticity). Based on thin film diffraction efficiency theory in the Raman–Nath regime, optical characterization results are analytically explained, evaluating the impact of each parameter variation. Overall, these findings contribute to technological implementations of polarization-sensitive, 3D-architected gratings for structural color applications.

Details

Title
3D-architected gratings for polarization-sensitive, nature-inspired structural color
Author
Ibarra Miranda, Moisés H 1 ; Osterberg, Lars W 2 ; Shah, Dev H 2 ; Regulagadda, Kartik 3 ; Poulikakos, Lisa V 4 

 Program of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA 
 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA 
 Laboratory for Multiphase Thermofluidics and Surface Nanoengineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA 
 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Program of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA 
Pages
547-558
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
ISSN
21928606
e-ISSN
21928614
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3182626926
Copyright
© 2025. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.