Biomimetic all-organic near zero-index photonics inspired by photosynthetic photonic structures

Martin Lopez-Garcia; Rosalia Serna; Miguel Castillo; Sara Núñez-Sánchez; M. Vasilevskiy; D. Cunha; Carla Estévez-Varela; Isabel Pastoriza-Santos; William Wardley

doi:10.1117/12.3016295

11 June 2024 Biomimetic all-organic near zero-index photonics inspired by photosynthetic photonic structures

Martin Lopez-Garcia, Rosalia Serna, Miguel Castillo, Sara Núñez-Sánchez, M. Vasilevskiy, D. Cunha, Carla Estévez-Varela, Isabel Pastoriza-Santos, William Wardley

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Proceedings Volume PC12990, Metamaterials XIV; PC129900A (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3016295
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2024, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Bioinspired photonics is rapidly advancing, leveraging nature's light-managing mechanisms to enhance sustainability, resilience, and processability in nanophotonic applications. A recent breakthrough in the field is the discovery of iridoplast, a chloroplast type with an efficient Bragg reflector structure that boosts light absorption through slow light effects. In this paper, we showcase how all-organic, metal-free photonic structures inspired by iridoplast exhibit optical properties that are thought to be unique to metals or complex oxide compositions. Firstly, we demonstrate that by replicating iridoplast using organic materials, a photonic crystal with Near-Zero-Index (NZI) properties is produced. We show experiments where the organic dye introduces strong absorptions, resulting in an NZI response and photonic stopbands that enhance light absorption in the VIS. Secondly, we show that, with the same materials but a different structure, it's possible to enable Optical Tamm States. Our results demonstrate that photosynthesis is a promising and yet poorly explored source of inspiration for sustainable photonics.

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Martin Lopez-Garcia, Rosalia Serna, Miguel Castillo, Sara Núñez-Sánchez, M. Vasilevskiy, D. Cunha, Carla Estévez-Varela, Isabel Pastoriza-Santos, and William Wardley "Biomimetic all-organic near zero-index photonics inspired by photosynthetic photonic structures", Proc. SPIE PC12990, Metamaterials XIV, PC129900A (11 June 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3016295

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KEYWORDS

Photonics

Biomimetics

Photonic crystals

Dyes

Light absorption

Nanophotonics

Polyvinyl alcohol

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