Page 47 - MSAM-2-2

Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing Biomimetic structures for optical focusing

view (150°) and antireflection optical properties can be Angel in 1979, which was similar to the real lobster eye
[11]
manufactured by replicating the household fly compound and was composed of a series of microchannel with dip
eyes, which are composed of thousands of small eyes . The angles arrayed on the surface of a sphere. Compared with
[6]
eyes of dragonflies and flies mentioned above belong to the “Schmidt” structure, “Angel” structure has higher optical
superposition compound eyes, which have a higher light focusing ability.
energy utilization rate and higher sensitivity compared The application of the bionic lobster eye structures
with apposition compound eyes and have gradually (BLES) with a wide field of view in the space all-sky
become a research focus . monitors makes detecting high-energy rays more
[7]
As another typical example of superposition compound convenient [12-14] . ESA installed “lobster ISS” equipment
[15]
eyes, lobster eyes converge light through the reflecting inspired by the lobster eye on the zenith pointing external
principle to obtain a brighter image in a deep water platform of the ISS’s Columbus module to provide an
environment . The lobster eye (Figure 1A) is composed order-of-magnitude improvement in the sensitivity of
[8]
of a matrix distributed of small eyes with square cross all-sky monitors in the soft X-ray band (0.1–3.0 keV).
sections, which have been described in detail in our NASA plans to apply “lobster eye” optics to locate
[16]
previous work . Based on the structural characteristics the source of cosmic ripples. In the Gamma-Ray Burst
[9]
of the lobster eye, a two-dimensional focus system, the science mission, the Sino-French space-borne multiband
“Schmidt” structure , was designed by the orthogonal astronomical variable objects monitor (SVOM) [17,18]
[10]
superposition of two one-dimensional structures that were will equip a bionic lobster eye optics device with square
a set of flat reflecting surfaces arranged in a uniform radial micropores. In addition to the applications in high-energy
pattern around a cylinder perimeter. This spatial periodic ray detection, the BLES with reflective focus characteristics
structure can realize the reflection focus of high-energy can also be used to make the new omnidirectional infrared
rays. In addition, an “Angel” structure was proposed by imaging device that have a wide field of view in the long

A B C

D E

F

Figure 1. (A) Lobster eye, the insert showing the morphology of the lobster eye ; (B) key parameters applied in (C) the computer-aided design module
[16]
of bionic lobster eye structure (BLES); (D) schematic and (E) the long-exposure photograph of the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process; and (F) LPBF-
processed BLES components with a different upper width of microchannel (UWM) (L = 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2.0 mm).

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2023) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/msam.0361