Butterflies, flies, flower petals, leaves and other plants and animals may one day become the template for ultra thin coatings of glass, polymers and other materials that have unusual optical, thermal and surface characteristics.

Photo Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

Researchers from three different disciplines collaborated to create perfect replicas of the surfaces of biological objects, Carlo G. Pantano, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, and director, Penn State's Materials Research Institute; Akhlesh Lakhtakia, the Charles Godfrey Binder (Endowed) Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Raúl J. Martín-Palma, visiting professor, Penn State, and professor of applied physics, Universidad Autónomia de Madrid, Spain.

Photo Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State, Raul Martin-Palma

Year Taken: 2008

Lakhtakia holds containers of butterfly wings that will be coated with chalcogenic glass using the conformal evaporated film by rotation (CEFR) technique.

Photo Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

Pantano holds a piece of conventional doubly refracting glass which requires the deposition of 15 or more alternating layers of two different materials with precisely controlled thicknesses. The CEFR technique yields doubly refracting characteristics through the deposition of only one coating that is nanostructured by the biotemplate, for example, butterfly wings. Pantano stands before the equipment used for this technique.

Photo Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

Lakhtakia points at two Morpheus butterflies, large South American butterflies with characteristic shiny wings. Surface patterns from wings like these could provide beautiful surfaces or help ensure against counterfeiting of money.

Photo Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

Enlarged view of surface of butterfly wings after application of coating using CEFR.

Photo Credit: Credit: Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

Getting closer to the surface, an enlarged view of the area between the ribs on a butterfly wing.

Photo Credit: Credit: Penn State

Year Taken: 2008

The magnified head of a fly coated with chalcogenic glass.

Photo Credit: Credit: Penn State

Year Taken: 2008