Silk may be green alternative for optical devices
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028827
Chemical & Engineering News : As a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic or glass, researchers are developing optical devices, such as lenses, made from the fibers of a silkworm’s cocoon. Vamsi Yadavilli of Virginia Commonwealth University and colleagues used photolithography to create two simple optical devices: a Fresnel zone plate and an iridescent pattern. To do so, they applied photoreactive acrylates to silk proteins to make them light sensitive, coated a surface with them, and shined UV light on them through a patterned mask. So far, the researchers have been able to create features 1 μm in size, but they are working to improve the resolution.
