Anisotropicoptical response of the cuticle of arthropods

L.A. Rodriguez, H.C. Achitte Schmutzler, M.I. Dufek, G.P. Ortiz, W. Luis Mochán

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Base Information

Volume

V56 - N2 / 2023 Especial: Óptica y Fotónica en Argentina

Reference

51131

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.7149/OPA.56.2.51131

Language

English

Keywords

Birefringence, structural colors, dielectric tensor, Haydock recursion, homogenization

Abstract

The structure of the cuticle of arthropods consists of layers of micro-ﬁlamentary chitin particles. The layers are stacked one on top of the other realizing a Bouligand helical structure which generates optical phenomena such as structural colors and birefringence that produce a metallic or iridescent appearance, polarization upon reﬂection and optical activity. We model the anisotropic optical response of a constitutive layer in the Bouligand helix of the cuticle using the Photonic computational package, obtaining the macroscopic dielectric tensor. Its anisotropy depends on the shape of the chitin particles, their reticular arrangement and their ﬁlling fractions. We build a model for the cuticle with tunable reﬂectance band-gaps that are very sensitive to geometrical parameters such as the angle θ that controls the helix pitch. We can explain the structural colors in terms of the reﬂectance band-gap induced by the rotation of the anisotropy mediated by θ, instead of following the usual approach that considers arrangements of pairs of layers with contrasting optical properties.

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