Band structure and optical properties of opal photonic crystals

Abstract

A theoretical approach for the interpretation of reflectance spectra of opal photonic crystals with fcc structure and (111) surface orientation is presented. It is based on the calculation of photonic bands and density of states corresponding to a specified angle of incidence in air. The results yield a clear distinction between diffraction in the direction of light propagation by (111) family planes (leading to the formation of a stop band) and diffraction in other directions by higher-order planes (corresponding to the excitation of photonic modes in the crystal). Reflectance measurements on artificial opals made of self-assembled polystyrene spheres are analyzed according to the theoretical scheme and give evidence of diffraction by higher-order crystalline planes in the photonic structure.

arXiv commentto appear in PRB

References in corpus (2)

• Symmetry characterization of eigenstates in opal-based photonic crystals
• Evidence for Braggoriton Excitations in Opal Photonic Crystals Infiltrated with Highly Polarizable Dyes

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• Filling in the gaps: The nature of light transmission through solvent-filled inverse opal photonic crystals
• Optical properties of spherulite opals
• Broad-band coherent backscattering spectroscopy of the interplay between order and disorder in 3D opal photonic crystals
• Optics of an opal modeled with a stratified effective index and the effect of the interface
• Resonance scattering of light by spherical photonic clusters: analytical approach