Anderson light localization in biological nanostructures of native silk
- Authors
- Choi, Seung Ho; Kim, Seong-Wan; Ku, Zahyun; Visbal-Onufrak, Michelle A.; Kim, Seong-Ryul; Choi, Kwang-Ho; Ko, Hakseok; Choi, Wonshik; Urbas, Augustine M.; Goo, Tae-Won; Kim, Young L.
- Issue Date
- 31-1월-2018
- Publisher
- NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
- Citation
- NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, v.9
- Indexed
- SCIE
SCOPUS
- Journal Title
- NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
- Volume
- 9
- URI
- https://scholar.korea.ac.kr/handle/2021.sw.korea/77921
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-017-02500-5
- ISSN
- 2041-1723
- Abstract
- Light in biological media is known as freely diffusing because interference is negligible. Here, we show Anderson light localization in quasi-two-dimensional protein nanostructures produced by silkworms (Bombyx mori). For transmission channels in native silk, the light flux is governed by a few localized modes. Relative spatial fluctuations in transmission quantities are proximal to the Anderson regime. The sizes of passive cavities (smaller than a single fibre) and the statistics of modes (decomposed from excitation at the gain-loss equilibrium) differentiate silk from other diffusive structures sharing microscopic morphological similarity. Because the strong reflectivity from Anderson localization is combined with the high emissivity of the biomolecules in infra-red radiation, silk radiates heat more than it absorbs for passive cooling. This collective evidence explains how a silkworm designs a nanoarchitectured optical window of resonant tunnelling in the physically closed structures, while suppressing most of transmission in the visible spectrum and emitting thermal radiation.
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