Silicon-based near-visible logpile photonic crystal

High-quality photonic crystals with a nearly complete band gap obtained by direct inversion of woodpile templates with titanium dioxide

Photonic crystal materials are based on a periodic modulation of the dielectric constant on length scales comparable to the wavelength of light. These materials can exhibit photonic band gaps; frequency regions for which the propagation of electromagnetic radiation is forbidden due to the depletion of the density of states. In order to exhibit a full band gap, 3D PCs must present a threshold refractive index contrast that depends on the crystal structure. In the case of the so-called woodpile photonic crystals this threshold is comparably low, approximately 1.9 for the direct structure. Therefore direct or inverted woodpiles made of high refractive index materials like silicon, germanium or titanium dioxide are sought after. Here we show that, by combining multiphoton lithography and atomic layer deposition, we can achieve a direct inversion of polymer templates into TiO₂ based photonic crystals. The obtained structures show remarkable optical properties in the near-infrared region with almost perfect specular reflectance, a transmission dip close to the detection limit and a Bragg length comparable to the lattice constant.

Rapid and low-cost prototyping of 3D nanostructures with multi-layer hydrogen silsesquioxane scaffolds

A layer-by-layer (LBL) method can generate or approximate any three-dimensional (3D) structure, and has been the approach for the manufacturing of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices. However, its high cost precludes the fabrication of anything other than CMOS-compatible devices, and general 3D nanostructures have been difficult to prototype in academia and small businesses, due to the lack of expensive facility and state-of-the-art tools. It is proposed and demonstrated that a novel process that can rapidly fabricate high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures at low cost, without requiring specialized equipment. An individual layer is realized through electron-beam lithography patterning of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resist, followed by planarization via spinning SU-8 resist and etch-back. A 4-layer silicon inverse woodpile photonic crystal with a period of 650 nm and a 7-layer HSQ scaffold with a period of 300 nm are demonstrated. This process provides a versatile and accessible solution to the fabrication of highly complex 3D nanostructures.

Titania woodpiles with complete three-dimensional photonic bandgaps in the visible

Titania woodpile photonic crystals are fabricated by a combination of stimulated-emission depletion direct laser writing and a novel titania double-inversion procedure. The procedure relies on atomic-layer deposition, which is also used to fine-tune the template geometry to maximize the gapsize. Angle- and polarization-resolved transmittance spectroscopy and a comparison with theory provide evidence for the first complete photonic bandgap in the visible.

Gallium nitride based logpile photonic crystals

We demonstrate a nine-layer logpile three-dimensional photonic crystal (3DPC) composed of single crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) nanorods, ∼100 nm in size with lattice constants of 260, 280, and 300 nm with photonic band gap in the visible region. This unique GaN structure is created through a combined approach of a layer-by-layer template fabrication technique and selective metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). These GaN 3DPC exhibit a stacking direction band gap characterized by strong optical reflectance between 380 and 500 nm. By introducing a "line-defect" cavity in the fifth (middle) layer of the 3DPC, a localized transmission mode with a quality factor of 25-30 is also observed within the photonic band gap. The realization of a group III nitride 3DPC with uniform features and a band gap at wavelengths in the visible region is an important step toward realizing complete control of the electromagnetic environment for group III nitride based optoelectronic devices.