| Herein, I describe my research on the synthesis and characterization of three-dimension photonic crystals in general and on the inverted silicon opal structure in particular. The latest techniques of synthesis of colloidal crystal templates including chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 to improve the template connectivity and mechanical properties are outlined. Different silicon infiltration methods by way of chemical vapor deposition are discussed and compared. Two of them are demonstrated and analyzed in depth. The various experimental (SEM, FT-IR & UV-vis-nIR reflectance, transmittance, etc.) and theoretical (band diagram calc., SWA, etc.) characterization techniques are also demonstrated The synthesis of high quality rectangular and triangular oriented inverted silicon microfibers is also demonstrated. Two techniques, the MISO and the silicon double inversion, are demonstrated for the synthesis of novel silicon photonic crystal topologies and for the exact replicate in silicon of polymer photonic crystal templates prepared by direct laser writing or holographic lithography. I also describe the synthesis of static and dynamic planar defects in direct and inverted colloidal photonic crystal followed by theoretical and experimental characterization. This precedes description of a novel laser micro-annealing technique developed for controlled insertion of extrinsic defect in inverted silicon opals by way of writing refractive index patterns. In conclusion, a detailed roadmap is provided for future synthesis of a 2D-3D heterostructure based on a theoretical construct proposed by Prof. S. John. |
