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Direct Transcription of Two‐Dimensional Colloidal Crystal Arrays into Three‐Dimensional Photonic Crystals
Author(s) -
Vlad Alexandru,
Frölich Andreas,
Zebrowski Thomas,
Dutu Constantin Augustin,
Busch Kurt,
Melinte Sorin,
Wegener Martin,
Huynen Isabelle
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201201138
Subject(s) - photonic crystal , materials science , reactive ion etching , fabrication , colloidal crystal , etching (microfabrication) , passivation , nanosphere lithography , interference lithography , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , lithography , photonics , colloid , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
A simple protocol for the fabrication of three‐dimensional (3D) photonic crystals in silicon is presented. Surface structuring by nanosphere lithography is merged with a novel silicon etching method to fabricate ordered 3D architectures. The SPRIE method, sequential passivation reactive ion etching, is a one‐step processing protocol relying on sequential passivation and reactive ion etching reactions using C 4 F 8 and SF 6 plasma chemistries. The diffusion of fresh reactants and etch product species inside the etched channels is found to play an important role affecting the structural uniformity of the designed structures and the etch rate drift is corrected by adjusting the reaction times. High quality photonic crystals are thus obtained by adding the third dimension to the two‐dimensional (2D) colloidal crystal assemblies through SPRIE. Careful adjustments of both mask design and lateral etch extent balance allow the implementation of even more complex functionalities including photonic crystal slabs and precise defect engineering. 3D photonic crystal lattices exhibiting optical stop‐bands in the infrared spectral region are demonstrated, proving the potential of SPRIE for fast, simple, and large‐scale fabrication of photonic structures.