In our attempts to produce photonic structures for use
in modern-world applications, taking a look at nature
for ideas and inspiration can be very beneficial. Nature
has produced a wide variety of photonic structures
throughout millions of years of development. Of
course, these techniques taken from nature require
modification to efficiently interface with modern
technology and devices. However, we can benefit
tremendously from studying the variety of biological
architectures, the clever design solutions developed to
overcome inherent limitations such as low refractive
index components, and the effectiveness and elegance
of how the most complex structures are formed in
simple environmental conditions and with limited
resources.