top of page
Butterfly Coloration

The vibrant colors of butterfly wings are not actually due to pigment, but instead from the way light interacts with the crystalline structure of the wing's surface. While butterflies utilize this light manipulation for thermo-regulation and signaling, humans have reason to take note. 

Biomimetic Designs

Energy Efficient Display Screens:

A new design of screens, known as Mirasol displays, are extremely efficient because they don't emit light- instead, they reflect it. Microscopic mirrors in each pixel change the size of an air gap inside the display, therefore changing the color. Because the design of the screen eliminates the need for light, Mirasol displays use only one-tenth of the energy needed to power traditional LCD screens. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

The lack of light needed to power the display also provides it the capability to vividly appear in all lighting settings, unlike LCD screens. The reason for this is the utilized design concept of optical interference, and diffracting light to display more vivid colors. Rather than battle bright lighting, the Mirasol screen uses interference to display white, ambient, or even sunlight back to users as its intended color image. 

The Science Behind Butterfly Coloration

The most vibrant example of non-pigment butterfly coloration is the Morpho butterfly. Their scaled wings are comprised primarily of microscopic ridges and cross ribs that diffract light in such a way that displays as an iridescent blue. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

Pigments and dyes absorb and reflect certain light wavelengths to display colors, but these multi scale structures cause light that hits the surface to diffract and interfere instead. Cross ribs on the scales diffract incoming light waves, causing the waves to spread as they travel through spaces between the structures. The diffracted light waves then interfere with each other so that certain color wavelengths cancel out (destructive interference) while others are intensified and reflected (constructive interference).

In use on the screen mentioned, these scales are mimicked using mirrors, known as interferometric modulators, which shift into place in microseconds to produce the correct color. The shift forward and back sets a specific distance between the micro-mirror and display screen. Depending on the size of the gap, white light is reflected back as red, green, or blue.

​

​

​

​

​

bottom of page