Sunlight readable displays take cue from low-reflection butterfly wings

摘要

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), under the direction of Hendrik Hoelscher, have found that irregular nanostructures on the surface of the glasswing butterfly wing are responsible for this low reflection. In theoretical experiments, they have succeeded in reproducing the effect, which opens up application possibilities, such as sunlight readable displays for handheld devices. Transparent materials such as glass always reflect part of the incident light. Some animals with transparent surfaces, such as a moth's eyes, succeed in keeping those reflections small, but only when the view angle is vertical to the surface. However, the wings of the glasswing butterfly, with a habitat mainly in Central America, also have a very low reflection when viewed from different angles.