Butterfly encryption technique

According to Cambridge University, the colours found in butterfly wings do not rely on pigments. Instead, they are produced by light bouncing off microscopic structures on the insects’ wings.

Mathias Kolle, working with Prof Ullrich Steiner and Prof Jeremy Baumberg of Cambridge University, studied the Indonesian Peacock or Swallowtail butterfly, whose wing scales are composed of intricate, microscopic structures that resemble the inside of an egg carton.

Because of their shape and the fact that they are made up of alternate layers of cuticle and air, these structures produce intense colours.

Using a combination of nanofabrication procedures - including self-assembly and atomic layer deposition - Kolle and his colleagues made structurally identical copies of the butterfly scales and these copies produced the same vivid colours as the butterflies’ wings.

‘We have unlocked one of nature’s secrets and combined this knowledge with state-of-the-art nanofabrication to mimic the intricate optical designs found in nature,’ said Kolle.