Features of the interaction of terahertz radiation with polymer models of diatom frustules
Mariia V. Reshetova1,2, Julijana Cvjetinovic1, Gleb M. Katyba3, Arina V. Radivon4, Kirill I. Zaytsev5, Sergey A. Dyakov1, Dmitry A. Gorin1, E. O. Epifanov2, N. V. Minaev2
1Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
2Institute of Photon Technologies (Troitsk) Kurchatov Complex of Crystallography and Photonics NRC "Kurchatov Institute", Troitsk, Moscow, Russia
3Institute of Solid State Physics of RAS, Chernogolovka, Russia
4Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia
5Prokhorov General Physics Institute of RAS, Moscow, Russia
Abstract
Humanity has long been inspired by the structures of natural objects. Today, the transfer of concepts from biology to technology is known as biomimetics. One subject of such research is diatoms — single-celled microalgae with a remarkable nanostructured cell wall, the frustule, composed of silicon dioxide. The frustule functions as a natural photonic crystal, efficiently focusing light for photosynthesis. Calculations indicate that it produces local field amplification, suggesting that future biomimetic devices could exploit similar principles to focus electromagnetic waves.
Experimental studies of frustule optical properties and near-field light propagation are technically challenging, since diatom sizes range from 2 to 2000 µm, while the characteristic structural periods are on the order of tens to hundreds of nanometers. In this work, artificially enlarged models of diatom frustules were fabricated using a polymer-based DLP 3D printer to enable experimental investigations in the terahertz range. Preliminary, the transmission spectrum of used photocurable polymer material was measured using terahertz pulsed time-domain spectroscopy. From the measured spectrum, the complex refractive index of the material was extracted and incorporated into a theoretical model. After, measurements of the field intensity distribution at λ = 911 µm were performed, and diffraction patterns were recorded using THz microscope. The experimental results were compared with numerical simulations of wave propagation through the structures. In the scaled polymer models, effects predicted for natural diatoms were observed, with appropriate corrections for experimental conditions and material properties. These studies may reveal potential applications for photonic devices and light-trapping technologies.
Speaker
Reshetova Mariia Vladimirovna
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
Russia
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