Zirconium Photonic Glass, Sem
by Oliver Meckes EYE OF SCIENCE
Title
Zirconium Photonic Glass, Sem
Artist
Oliver Meckes EYE OF SCIENCE
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Scanning electron micrograph of photonic glass. These regularly arranged hollow zirconium spheres are 172nm in diameter. They have the optical properties of an opal. Photonic crystals contain regularly repeating regions of high and low dielectric constant. Photons (behaving as waves) either propagate through this structure or not, depending on their wavelength. Intuitively, the bandgap of photonic crystals can be understood to arise from the destructive interference of multiple reflections of light propagating in the crystal at the interfaces of the high and low dielectric constant regions, akin to the bandgaps of electrons in solids. The periodicity of the photonic crystal structure must be around half the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves to be diffracted. This is ~350 nm (blue) to ~650 nm (red) for photonic crystals that operate in the visible part of the spectrum, or even less, depending on average index of refraction. Photonic crystals are attractive optical materials for controlling and manipulating light flow. One dimensional photonic crystals are already in widespread use, in the form of thin-film optics, with applications from low and high reflection coatings on lenses and mirrors to color changing paints and inks. Higher-dimensional photonic crystals are of great interest for both fundamental and applied research, and the two dimensional ones are beginning to find commercial applications. In nature you will find photonic crystals in opals, bird feathers, or butterfly wings. Magnification 15,000x (at 15cm image width).
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May 19th, 2021
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