Disorder and broad-angle iridescence from Morpho-inspired structures

The ordered, lamellae-structured ridges on the wing scales of Morpho butterflies give rise to their striking blue iridescence by multilayer interference and grating diffraction. At the same time, the random offsets among the ridges broaden the directional multilayer reflection peaks and the grating diffraction peaks that the color appears the same at various viewing angles, contrary to the very definition of iridescence. While the overall process is well understood, there has been little investigation into confirming the roles of each factor due to the difficulty of controllably reproducing such complex structures. Here we use a combination of self-assembly, selective etching, and directional deposition to fabricate Morpho-inspired structure with controlled random offsets. We find that while random offsets are necessary, it alone is not sufficient to produce the broad-angle reflection of Morpho butterflies. We identify diffraction as a critical factor for the bright, anisotropic broadening of the reflection peak of Morpho butterflies to a solid angle of 0.23 sr, and suggest random macroscopic surface curvature as a practical alternative, with an isotropic broad reflection peak whose solid angle can reach 0.11 sr at an incident angle of 60°.