Effect of extinction on the high-energy optical response of photonic crystals

An analysis of the optical response of photonic crystals in the high-order band energy range is herein presented. High and abruptly fluctuating specular reflectance is predicted for perfect lattices at those energies even in the absence of any photonic gap or pseudogap. As optical extinction is gradually introduced, it is possible to reproduce experimental results found in the literature and which have recently been the subject of an intense debate. Band structure calculations demonstrate that extinction is extraordinarily amplified in the high-energy range and is responsible for the features so far observed in that range in real crystalsConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2005AR0070Universidad de Buenos Aires ANPCYT-BID 802Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica OC-AR03-14099Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia MAT2005-0302

Towards a full understanding of the growth dynamics and optical response of self-assembled photonic colloidal crystal films

Recent advances in the comprehension of the growth dynamics of colloidal crystal films opens the door to rational design of experiments aiming at fabricating lattices in which the density of intrinsic defects is minimized. Since such imperfections have a dramatic effect on scattered light of wavelength smaller than the lattice constant, the evaluation of the experimental optical response at those energy ranges, based on the comparison to rigorous calculations, is identified as the most sensitive guide to accurately evaluate the progress towards the actual realization of defect-free colloidal crystals.Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación MAT200503028Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2005AR007

Interplay between crystal-size and disorder effects in the high-energy optical response of photonic crystal slabs

Experimental reflectance spectra have been obtained for colloidal crystals whose widths ranged from one to several sphere monolayers, and their features in the higher order band energy range have been reproduced theoretically. In order to fit the measured data, optical extinction has been introduced in the theoretical model, which accounts for structure imperfections and disorder, the main sources of losses in an actual measurement. A complex spectrum in the high frequency region is observed even for one ordered monolayer, being this peak structure gradually modified as more layers are piled up. This allowed us to identify which peaks are reminiscent of the optical reflectance features of a single close-packed layer and which are the result of building up a three dimensional periodicity. A clear correlation between the amount of extinction introduced in the fitting and the slab width has been found, which demonstrates that wider real crystals produce less diffusely scattered light. At the same time, we find that the optical response of thinner crystals is more robust against the introduction of extinction than that of thicker ones, for which the effect is dramatic.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2005AR0070Universidad de Buenos Aires ANPCYT-BID 802Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica OC-AR03-14099Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación MAT2005-0302

Physical origin of the high energy optical response of three-dimensional photonic crystals

The physical origin of the optical response observed in three-dimensional photonic crystals when the photon wavelength is equal or lower than the lattice parameter still remains unsatisfactorily explained and is the subject of an intense and interesting debate. Herein we demonstrate for the first time that all optical spectra features in this high energy region of photonic crystals arise from electromagnetic resonances within the ordered array, modified by the interplay between these resonances with the opening of diffraction channels, the presence of imperfections and finite size effects. AU these four phenomena are taken into account in our theoretical approach to the problem, which allows us to provide a full description of the observed optical response based on fundamental phenomena as well as to attain fair fittings of experimental results.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2005AR0070Universidad de Buenos Aires ANPCYT-BID 802Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica OC-AR03-14099Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación MAT2005-0302