Micromoulding of three-dimensional photonic crystals on silicon substrates

The growth of three-dimensional photonic crystals (PhCs) on patterned silicon substrates is reported. It is shown that deep trenches can be uniformly filled by a self-assembly of polymer microspheres, in a close-packed face-centred cubic lattice. The crystalline quality is compared for different channel widths. These observations are confirmed by optical reflectance measurements in the visible range, showing a bandwidth of enhanced reflection. The possibility to detach the PhC, i.e. to use the substrate as a mould, is also demonstrated. The potential of this approach for building PhC-based complex architectures is discussed.

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