Silicon-Based Photonic Crystals

Abstract

Photonic crystals can be thought of as optical analogues of semiconductors. Here recent advances in photonic crystals based on silicon are reviewed. After summarizing the theory of photonic bandgap materials, the preparation and linear optical properties of 1D, 2D, and 3D silicon‐based photonic crystals are discussed. Laterally structured porous silicon with a defect line is shown in the Figure.

Crystallization of Amorphous SiO2 Microtubes Catalyzed by Lithium

“…[14] Among the alkali metals, Li has been reported to be the most efficient catalyst for the conversion of amorphous silica glass into a crystalline phase, because the incorporation of Li results in the highest perturbation of the amorphous SiO 2 framework. [14,15] When lithium niobate microtubes are prepared inside the pores of macroporous Si [16][17][18] either by thermolysis of single-source precursors at 650°C or by infiltration of LiNbO 3 melts at 1260°C, quartz forms in the silica layer on the pore walls. [19,20] All the procedures described above start from glassy silica doped with metal atoms, or they require the presence of a bulk amount of catalyst in direct contact with the SiO 2 specimens to be crystallized.…”

Dielectric Photonic Crystals

“…∼4.1 at 546.1 nm [48]) is arguably the material of choice for 2D PCs because conventional semiconductor microfabrication techniques (electron beam lithography, optical lithography, and pattern transfer by etching) can be used [10,49]. Extension to 3D is also possible by building up structures layer-by-layer via repetitive deposition and etching processes [50].…”

Chemical Approach to Functional Artificial Opals

“…PCs are a fascinating class of materials and highly promising candidates for a variety of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices. [16,17] This property can be exploited to localize light in defects (tiny voids, lines, or planes inside the PC, which do not have a periodic structure) and to guide it, loss-less, around sharp corners [18] or to modify the spontaneous emission of light sources incorporated into the PC such as organic dyes, rare earth ions, or semiconductor quantum dots. [19] Artificial opals prepared by self-assembly offer the advantage of preparing large scale (several cm 2 ) threedimensional (3D) PCs with reasonable effort.…”

“…[29,33,34] for two-dimensional PCs prepared by etching of silicon, which is a competitive technology, see ref. [35] . From a general point of view, artificial opals and inverted opals find interest as PCs, but also as simple coloring pigments and sensors.…”