We demonstrate a facile method for fabrication of colloidal crystals containing a planar defect by using
PS@SiO2 core-shell spheres as building blocks. A monolayer of solid spheres was embedded in
core-shell colloidal crystals serving as the defect layer, which formed by means of self-assembly at the
air/water interface. Compared with previous methods, this fabrication method results in pronounced
passbands in the band gaps of the colloidal photonic crystal. The FWHM of the obtained passband is only
~16nm, which is narrower than the previously reported results. The influence of the defect layer
thickness on the optical properties of these sandwiched structures was also investigated. No high-cost
processes or specific equipment is needed in our approach. Inverse opals with planar defects can be
obtained via calcination of the PS cores, without the need of infiltration. The experimental results are in
good agreement with simulations performed using the FDTD method.
Three-dimensionally (3D) ordered macroporous materials combine interesting structural and optical properties. Accessible and economic fabrication is essential to fully explore the unique possibilities these materials present. A common method to fabricate 3D ordered macroporous materials is by self-assembling colloids, resulting in so-called opals. A templating strategy is then often used to introduce additional functionality inside the porous structure, giving rise to inverse opals. In this work, we developed an easy and versatile method to fabricate highly uniform polymer inverse opals without overlayers. Briefly, our approach consists of sandwiching a resin melt between two opal templates, forcing all material inside or between the macroporous structures. The opal voids are fully filled and the superfluous melt material is extruded before curing the resin. Finally, the opal templates are removed by chemical etching. The resulting structures are freestanding 3D macroporous films with large-area uniformity, displaying strong photonic properties due to their structural order. Additionally, many applications require specific optical functionalities. The versatility of our templating method is uniquely suited for this purpose as it allows doping of the melt before infiltration. Therefore, we can incorporate a large variety of optical functions in the inverse opals using a single approach We believe this method will help the systematic investigation and improvement of existing effects in these structures, while providing a platform for the discovery and demonstration of novel effects. As this method combines 3D ordered macroporous materials with linear and nonlinear optical materials, it is even possible to tune optical interactions, which could be technologically relevant for OLEDs, solar cells, lasers, electro-optical modulators and optical switches.
The performance of magnetic-field sensors and optical isolators is largely determined by the efficiency of the active
materials. This efficiency could be dramatically increased by integrating Faraday materials in photonic crystals. For this
purpose, monodisperse nanospheres were self-assembled into a colloidal photonic crystal and magnetic functionality was
introduced by dipping the photonic crystal in a suspension containing superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Reflection and
absorbance measurements of these magneto-photonic crystals revealed clear relationships between the time spent in
suspension and the position and strength of the photonic band gap. When additional magnetic material was introduced,
the band gap was red shifted and the strength of the band gap was decreased. Using Bragg's law and the Maxwell-Garnet
approximation for effective media, the filling fraction of the magneto-photonic crystals was calculated from the observed
red shift.
While superparamagnetic nanoparticles did confer magneto-optical properties to the photonic crystal, they also increased
the absorption, which can be detrimental as the Faraday effect is measured in transmission. Therefore a trade-off exists in
the optical regime between the amount of Faraday rotation and the absorption. By carefully controlling the filling
fraction, this trade-off was investigated and optimized for photonic crystals with different band gaps. Both polystyrene
and silica photonic crystals were filled with superparamagnetic nanoparticles. In case of the polystyrene photonic
crystals, it was found that the maximum achievable filling fraction was influenced by the size of the polystyrene
nanospheres. Smaller polystyrene nanospheres gave rise to smaller pore diameters and a faster onset of pore blocking
when filled with superparamagnetic nanoparticles. As a result, the maximum achievable filling fraction was also lower.
Pore blocking was found to be negligible in silica photonic crystals. Together with a higher mechanical strength, this
makes silica photonic crystals more suited for the fabrication of colloidal magneto-photonic crystals.
In this paper, a nanoscale engineering approach is described to carefully control the filling fraction of magneto-photonic
crystals. This allows fine-tuning the absorption and the position and strength of the photonic band gap. By tailoring the
properties of magneto-photonic crystals, the means for application-specific designs and a better description of Faraday
effects in 3D magneto-photonic crystals are provided.
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