Artificially inscribed defects in opal photonic crystals

Opals are three-dimensional photonic crystals, self-assembled from dielectric spherical beads into a face-centered cubic lattice. By introducing intentional defects in the crystal lattice, one modifies features such as spontaneous emission and the directionality of diffracted light. We here present a method for the artificial introduction of a lattice of such intentional defects in self-assembled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) photonic crystals by means of electron beam lithography. The inscribed defects are of the size of an individual bead, providing a broad spectral range between adjacent resonance peaks. This opens for devices with single line transmission in the photonic band gap, as…