Langmuir 22, 7378-7383 (2006).
Volume 22, Number 17, 7378-7383 (July 2006).
Integration of Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals onto Structured Silicon Wafers
Jianhui Ye,1 Rudolf Zentel,1 Sanna Arpiainen,2 Jouni Ahopelto,2 Fredrik Jonsson,3 Sergei G. Romanov,3 and Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres3
1Department of Chemistry, University of Mainz, Duesbergerweg 10-14, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.2 VTT Centre for Microelectronics, P.O. Box 1208, FIN-02044 VTT, Finland.
3 Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Cork, Ireland.
Abstract
We report on the fabrication of high-quality opaline photonic crystals from large silica spheres (diameter of 890 nm), self-assembled in hydrophilic trenches of silicon wafers by using a novel technique coined a combination of "lifting and stirring". The achievements reported here comprise a spatial selectivity of opal crystallization without special treatment of the wafer surface, a filling of the trenches up to the top, leading to a spatially uniform film thickness, particularly an absence of cracks within the size of the trenches, and finally a good 3D order of the opal lattice even in trenches with a complex confined geometry, verified using optical measurements. The opal lattice was found to match the pattern precisely in width as well as depth, providing an important step toward applications of opals in integrated optics.
Full text: PDF [1.06 MB] | DOI: 10.1021/la0607611