Optical properties of a scorpion (Centruroides limpidus). (7th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ullrich, Bruno; Duckworth, Robyn M; Singh, Akhilesh K; Barik, Puspendu; Mejía-Villanueva, Vicente O; Garcia-Pérez, Alberto C
• Is Part Of: Physica scripta. Volume 91:Number 4(2016:Apr.)
• Publication Date: 2016-03-07
• Subjects: scorpion -- conductive polymers -- optical properties -- infrared photoluminescence -- photocurrent -- cuticle -- chitin; Physics -- Periodicals; 530.05
• DOI: 10.1088/0031-8949/91/4/045802
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-8949

Abstract

Abstract: Scorpions, elusive by nature, tend to appear nocturnally and are usually not appreciated when encountered. The exoskeleton is capable of fluorescing allowing for their detection at night in order to prevent undesirable encounters. The specificity of their fluorescing suggests specialized optical features. However, despite the blue–green fluorescence, to the best of our knowledge, no further results have been published on the optical properties of scorpions. Their exoskeletal structure whose versatility provides them protection, camouflage, and flexibility has not been studied under laser excitation and monochromatic light. The experiments reveal the nonlinear optical properties, infrared photoluminescence, and photoconductivity of the epicuticle of scorpions, demonstrating that the scorpion's outer-covering is a prototype of a semiconducting inherently integrated multifunctional polymeric film with appealing potential applications such as optical logics, photonic frequency converters, novel multiplexers handling electronic and photonic inputs, and lasers.