Silk fibroin protein has been reinvented as a new optical material for biophotonic applications because of its optical transparency, biocompatibility, and easy fabrication process. It is used in various silk-based optical devices, which makes it desirable to investigate the optical properties of silk from diverse perspectives. This paper presents our investigation of the optical properties of silk fibroin, extracted from Bombyx mori cocoons. We have measured transmission spectra from the visible to near-infrared region and investigated waveguiding properties by the prism-coupling technique for five wavelengths (473.0, 632.8, 964.0, 1311, and 1552 nm). From the measurements, we determined the values of refractive indices. The measurements also proved waveguiding properties for all of the wavelengths. Optical scattering losses were measured by the fiber probe technique at 632.8 nm and were estimated to be 0.22 dB·cm-1.

Department of Energy Systems Research Ajou University Suwon 16499 Korea

Department of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty of Chemical Technology Institute of Chemical Technology Technicka 5 166 28 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Microelectronics Faculty of Electrical Engineering Czech Technical University Technicka 2 168 27 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Physics Ajou University Suwon 16499 Korea

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