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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.
- Jae-Jun Kima,
- Youngseop Leea,
- Ha Gon Kimb,
- Ki-Ju Choic,
- Hee-Seok Kweonc,
- Seongchong Parkd, and
- Ki-Hun Jeonga,1
- aDepartment of Bio and Brain Engineering and KAIST Institute for Optical Science and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea;
- bFirefly Institute, Culture and Tourism Division, Muju-eup, Muju-gun, Jellobuk-do 568-701, Republic of Korea;
- cDivision of Electron Microscopic Research, Korea Basic Science Institute, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-806, Republic of Korea; and
- dDivision of Physical Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea
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.
- firefly light organ
- antireflective structures
- nanostructures on lens
- light-emitting diode
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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