Biologically inspired LED lens from cuticular nanostructures of firefly lantern

Jae-Jun Kim, Youngseop Lee, Ha Gon Kim, Ki-Ju Choi, Hee-Seok Kweon, Seongchong Park, and Ki-Hun Jeong
PNAS November 13, 2012 109 (46) 18674-18678; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1213331109

  1. Edited by Robert Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and approved September 27, 2012 (received for review August 2, 2012)

Abstract

Cuticular nanostructures found in insects effectively manage light for light polarization, structural color, or optical index matching within an ultrathin natural scale. These nanostructures are mainly dedicated to manage incoming light and recently inspired many imaging and display applications. A bioluminescent organ, such as a firefly lantern, helps to out-couple light from the body in a highly efficient fashion for delivering strong optical signals in sexual communication. However, the cuticular nanostructures, except the light-producing reactions, have not been well investigated for physical principles and engineering biomimetics. Here we report a unique observation of high-transmission nanostructures on a firefly lantern and its biological inspiration for highly efficient LED illumination. Both numerical and experimental results clearly reveal high transmission through the nanostructures inspired from the lantern cuticle. The nanostructures on an LED lens surface were fabricated by using a large-area nanotemplating and reconfigurable nanomolding with heat-induced shear thinning. The biologically inspired LED lens, distinct from a smooth surface lens, substantially increases light transmission over visible ranges, comparable to conventional antireflection coating. This biological inspiration can offer new opportunities for increasing the light extraction efficiency of high-power LED packages.

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kjeong{at}kaist.ac.kr.

  • Author contributions: J.-J.K., Y.L., and K.-H.J. designed research; J.-J.K., Y.L., and K.-H.J. performed research; J.-J.K., Y.L., H.G.K., K.-J.C., H.-S.K., S.P., and K.-H.J. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.-J.K., Y.L., and K.-H.J. analyzed data; and J.-J.K. and K.-H.J. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1213331109/-/DCSupplemental.

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Inspiration from firefly lantern
Jae-Jun Kim, Youngseop Lee, Ha Gon Kim, Ki-Ju Choi, Hee-Seok Kweon, Seongchong Park, Ki-Hun Jeong
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2012, 109 (46) 18674-18678; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213331109
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