title: Demonstration of higher colour response with ambient refractive index in Papilio blumei as compared to Morpho rhetenor.
abstract: Multilayer structures are known to produce vivid iridescent colouration in many butterflies. Morpho butterflies are well known for their high reflectance, which appears to remain high over a wide range of viewing angles. Thus these butterflies have served as the inspiration for sensing materials. Using microscopic images and videos, we visually demonstrate that the colour response with ambient refractive index of Papilio blumei is better than that of Morpho rhetenor. This result was also verified using measurements of the reflectance for different viewing angles. The finite-difference time-domain method was then used to simulate the microscopic pictures and reflections. Finally, the relationships between the structure, ambient refractive index, reflection and viewing angle are discussed in detail.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wanlin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaotian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yiqiao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qinglei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiajun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites Shanghai Jiao Tong University 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D061848:Optical Imaging; D010858:Pigmentation; D012031:Refractometry; D013499:Surface Properties