Optical probing of long range spatial correlation and symmetry in complex biophotonic architectures on the transparent insect wings

Abstract

We experimentally probe complex bio-photonic architecture of microstructures on the transparent insect wings by a simple, non-invasive, real time optical technique. A stable and reproducible far-field diffraction pattern in transmission was observed using collimated cw and broadband fs pulses. A quantitative analysis of the observed diffraction pattern unveiled a new form of long-range semi-periodic order of the microstructures over mm scale. These observations agree well with Fourier analysis of SEM images of the wing taken at various length scales. We propose a simple quantitative model based on optical diffraction by an array of non-overlapping microstructures with minimal disorder which supports our experimental observations. Two different applications of our techniques are demonstrated. First, by scanning the laser beam across the wing sample we observed a rotation of the original diffraction profile which gives direct signature of organizational symmetry of microstructures. Second, we report the first optical detection of reorganization in the photonic architecture on the Drosophila wings by various genetic mutations. These results have potentials for design and development of diffractive optical components for applications and identifying routes to genetic control of biomemetic devices.