Porous silicon and diatoms micro-shells: an example of inverse biomimetic

Edoardo De Tommasi; Ilaria Rea; Ivo Rendina; Luca De Stefano

doi:10.1117/12.887257

3 May 2011 Porous silicon and diatoms micro-shells: an example of inverse biomimetic

Edoardo De Tommasi, Ilaria Rea, Ivo Rendina, Luca De Stefano

Proceedings Volume 8068, Bioelectronics, Biomedical, and Bioinspired Systems V; and Nanotechnology V; 80680D (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887257
Event: SPIE Microtechnologies, 2011, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

Porous silicon (PSi) is by far a very useful technological platform for optical monitoring of chemical and biological substances and due to its peculiar physical and morphological properties it is worldwide used in sensing experiments. On the other hand, we have discovered a natural material, the micro-shells of marine diatoms, ubiquitous unicellular algae, which are made of hydrated amorphous silica, but, most of all, show geometrical structures made of complex patterns of pores which are surprisingly similar to those of porous silicon. Moreover, under laser irradiation, this material is photoluminescent and the photoluminescence is very sensitive to the surrounding atmosphere, which means that the material can act as a transducer. Starting from our experience on PSi devices, we explore the optical and photonic properties of marine diatoms micro-shells in a sort of inverse biomimicry.

Citation Download Citation

Edoardo De Tommasi, Ilaria Rea, Ivo Rendina, and Luca De Stefano "Porous silicon and diatoms micro-shells: an example of inverse biomimetic", Proc. SPIE 8068, Bioelectronics, Biomedical, and Bioinspired Systems V; and Nanotechnology V, 80680D (3 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887257

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