2013/01/04 by Andrés E. Dolinko, Dolinko, Andrés E., Diana C. Skigin +1
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #78-04 #Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fern and Epiphyte Biology #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic Crystals and Applications #Plant and animal studies #Slime Mold and Myxomycetes Research #cond-mat.mes-hall #msc:78-04 #physics.comp-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1301.0754
43 pages, 19 figures
arxiv created 2013/01/04 · openalex publication_date 2013/01/04 · arxiv updated 2013/01/07 · openalex created_date 2022/09/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present a method based on a time domain simulation of wave propagation that allows studying the optical response of a broad range of dielectric photonic structures. This method is particularly suitable for dealing with complex biological structures. One of the main features of the proposed approach is the simple and intuitive way of defining the setup and the photonic structure to be simulated, which can be done by feeding the simulation with a digital image of the structure. We also develop a set of techniques to process the behavior of the evolving waves within the simulation. These techniques include a direction filter, that permits decoupling of waves travelling simultaneously in different directions, a dynamic differential absorber, to cancel the waves reflected at the edges of the simulation space, a multi-frequency excitation scheme based on a filter that allows decoupling waves of different wavelengths travelling simultaneously, and a near-to-far-field approach to evaluate the resulting wavefield outside the simulation domain. We validate the code and, as an example, apply it to the complex structure found in a microorganism called Diachea leucopoda, which exhibits a multicolor iridescent appearance.