Ultrafast holographic recording of snake infrared pit tissue using two-photon induced photopolymerization

Non-cryogenic, high sensitivity infrared detection is one of the fundamental criteria for future sensor technology. To this end, we propose mimicking the natural infrared detection structures found in certain snake pit tissue. We hypothesize that the pit organ behaves like a photonic bandgap in that a regular arrangement of sub-micron micropits removes or traps visible radiation and enhances infrared radiation transmission. In order to simulate the two- and three-dimensional pit surface morphology, we used holographic two-photon induced polymerization (H-TPIP), a new microfabrication technique previously reported by this group. Using the ultrafast H-TPIP procedure, we can write large area biomimetic structures into an optical resin. Due to the quadratic dependence of the absorption probability on the incident radiation intensity, molecular excitation via the simultaneous absorption of two photons has been shown to lead to improved three-dimensional control of photochemical or photophysical processes. Using spatial variations in the incident intensity within a photopolymerizable resin, these structures can be readily fabricated. We report our progress on duplicating the surface morphology of snake infrared pit tissue using H-TPIP.