Anti-Reflection

Innovation from Nature

The great fluttering begins at dusk. As daylight fades, the time of the moths begins. In the dark, they orient themselves well and manage night flights with ease. By day, however, we perceive them as shadowy creatures: almost motionless, inconspicuously coloured, and with eyes as black as the night.

How it works: The lens layer of moth eyes is not smooth, but covered with countless tiny protuberances. It lets all incoming light pass through and reflects none of it back. This allows moths such as the pine looper (Bupalus piniaria) to see well at night even in weak light, while during the day they are protected from predators. Their non-reflective eyes and the muted colours of their wings make moths almost invisible to birds.

→ The tiny structures on the lens layer of moth eyes, only a few nanometres in size, can be imitated artificially. Inspired by them, non-reflective coatings are produced for spectacle lenses, screens and solar cells.