Microscale Reflectance Spectrometry of Biological Thin Films

当生物薄膜厚度或特征尺寸小于或等于太阳辐射波长的数量级时，存在几种光学效应。自然界已经开发出这些复杂的生物薄膜结构，以利用这些微尺度辐射现象来控制太阳辐射的反射和吸收。有必要提高对这一领域的理解，以确定这些结构的多种功能。此外，由于全球变化影响到达地球的太阳光谱，薄膜功能的有效性将被改变，这反过来可能影响生态。 此外，还有一些经验教训，从生物薄膜结构，这可能被证明是重要的亚微米微电子，光学涂层和太阳能吸收器。 我们建议开发一种数值和实验工具，微尺度反射光谱仪，它可以用于这些调查。 具体而言，所提出的技术将允许测量生物薄膜结构的辐射特性，并与数值模拟进行比较。光/膜相互作用的唯象建模将为其他生物仪器以及微电子工业提供改进。我们期望研究，将源于使用这种仪器，在理解生物薄膜结构的功能发挥关键作用。

When biological thin-film thicknesses or feature dimensions are less than or equal to the order of magnitude as the wavelengths of solar radiation, several optical effects are present. Nature has developed these complex biological thin-film structures to take advantage of these microscale radiation phenomena in order to control the reflectance and absorption of solar radiation. There is a need for improved understanding in this field in order to determine the multiple functions of these structures. Moreover, as global changes affect the solar spectrum reaching earth, the effectiveness of the thin-film functions will be altered which in turn may affect the ecology. Additionally, there are lessons to be learned from biological thin-film structures which may prove to be important in sub-micron microelectronics, optical coatings, and solar absorbers. We propose to develop a numerical and experimental tool, the Microscale Reflectance Spectrometer, which can be used for these investigations. Specifically, the proposed technology will allow the radiative properties of biological thin-film structures to be measured and also compared against numerical simulations. The phenomenological modeling of light/film interaction will be improved for other biological instruments as well as for the microelectronics industry. We expect research that will stem from the use of this instrument to play a critical role in the understanding of the functions of the biological thin-film structures.