Optical properties of SiO2 and ZnO nanostructured replicas of butterfly wing scales

Abstract

SiO2 and ZnO inverse structure replicas have been synthesized using butterfly wings as templates. The laser diffraction performance of the SiO2 inverse structure replica was investigated and it was found that the zero-order light spot split into a matrix pattern when the distance between the screen and the sample was increased. This unique diffraction phenomenon is closely related to the structure of the SiO2 inverse structure replica. On the other hand, by analyzing the photoluminescence spectrum of the ZnO replica, optical anisotropy in the ultraviolet band was demonstrated for this material.