Sculpting optical microstructures with slight changes in chemistry

In 2013, materials scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering grew a garden of self-assembled crystal microstructures. Now, applied mathematicians at the SEAS and Wyss have developed a framework to better understand and control the fabrication of these microstructures. Together, the researchers used that framework to grow sophisticated optical microcomponents. Researchers used a new framework to grow sophisticated optical microcomponents, including experimental realizations of the base shapes for Bragg resonators (Credit Wim L. Noorduin/ Harvard University) When it comes to the fabrication of multifunctional materials, nature has humans beat by miles. Marine mollusks can embed photonic structures into their curved shells without compromising shell strength; deep sea sponges evolved fiber optic cables to direct light to symbiotically living organisms; and brittlestars cover their skeletons with lenses to focus light into the body to 'see' at night. During growth, these sophisticated optical structures tune tiny, well-defined curves and hollow shapes to better guide and trap light. Manufacturing complex bio-inspired shapes in the lab is often time consuming and costly.