Recent Progress in the Fabrication of Photonic Crystals Based on Porous Anodic Materials

Abstract

Photonic crystals (PCs) based on porous anodic materials have been proven to be a potent and versatile instrument for the emergence of new technologies with a wide range of applications. Their lower production costs are one of the key advantages, making PC-based systems more widely available and appropriate for industrial manufacturing. The ability to produce well-defined pores on metal oxide and semiconductor surfaces has experienced a major renaissance due to the striking differences in characteristics between porous surfaces and dense oxide layers. In this review, we give a general overview of the progress of PC fabrication based on porous surfaces of anodized aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), and titanium (Ti) using various anodization techniques, and their optical characteristics and applications are discussed. The anodizing conditions have a large influence on the pore geometry of the produced porous surfaces. The review fully focuses on the advancements made in manufacturing anodic aluminum oxide (AAO), porous silicon (pSi), and titanium-dioxide nanotube (TNT) PCs manufactured using self-ordered anodization under varied conditions. Additionally, a critical assessment of the upcoming developments in PC manufacturing and their optical characteristics suitable for various photonic devices is provided.

Stained Glass Effect in Anodic Aluminum Oxide Formed in Selenic Acid

“…Selenic acid is a promising electrolyte for the preparation of AAO PhCs with high transmittance in the UV and visible range. 15,37 The height maps of the Al surfaces after polishing are smooth and do not demonstrate any grain structure of the polycrystalline substrates (Figure 2a), whereas the grain structure becomes visible after the first anodization (Figure 2b). As Al was oxidized on all the metal grains simultaneously, the height of the grains depends on the Al electrochemical oxidation rate.…”

“…Electrochemical oxidation of valve metals in acidic electrolytes, also known as the anodization process, produces porous anodic oxides on the metal surface. Anodic oxides of valve metals have been of great interest to the scientific community owing to their unique structure with aligned pores and intrinsic to the oxides chemical and physical properties. − Numerous advanced materials and devices have been formed using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) in ongoing research: membranes, − drug delivery systems, nanowires, , photonic crystals, scaffolds for tissue engineering, capacitors, , photocatalysts, and sensors. − …”

“…Selenic acid is a promising electrolyte for the preparation of AAO PhCs with high transmittance in the UV and visible range. , Here, we elucidate the influence of the crystallographic orientation on Al anodization in 1 M H 2 SeO 4 by quantitative analysis of the properties of AAO PhCs prepared on coarse-grained Al substrates.…”

“…Anodic oxides of valve metals have been of great interest to the scientific community owing to their unique structure with aligned pores and intrinsic to the oxides chemical and physical properties. 1−7 Numerous advanced materials and devices have been formed using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) in ongoing research: membranes, 8−11 drug delivery systems, 12 nanowires, 13,14 photonic crystals, 15 scaffolds for tissue engineering, 16 capacitors, 17,18 photocatalysts, 19 and sensors. 20−22 Crystallographic orientation of the Al substrate is one of the anodization parameters among the voltage, temperature, and electrolyte composition.…”

Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals Based on Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide

“…33 Today, 1D AAO PCs are being rapidly developing due to the simple and reproducible fabrication technique as well as great prospects for the practical applications of these PCs in photonics, optoelectronics, and sensorics. 34,35 Several attempts have been made to create in-plane and outof-plane periodicity in AAO simultaneously. 36−39 The fabrication procedure involved two stages of aluminum anodization.…”