Study on composite photonic crystal patch antenna

The paper investigated a composite photonic crystal patch antenna by using the method of finite difference time domain (FDTD). The results show that there exists a wave resonance state at 2.635 GHz, where the real part of the permittivity and permeability are all negative; its refraction index is –1. The effect has largely enhanced the electromagnetic wave’s resonance intensity, and has improved the localized extent of electromagnetic energy obviously in such photonic crystal structure (PBG), resulting in a higher antenna gain, a lower return loss, and a better improvement of the antenna’s characteristics. Due to such the advantages, the use of patch antennas can be extended to such fields as mobile communication, satellite communication, aviation, etc.     

Mid infrared band gap properties of 3-dimensional silicon inverse opal photonic crystal

By the solvent vaporization convection self-assembly method, 1.86 μm silica microspheres were assembled into a colloidal crystal template with long-range order. High refractive index silicon was then filled in the voids of the silica template by the low pressure chemical vapor deposition method. A 3-dimensional silicon inverse opal photonic crystal was obtained with a photonic band gap simulated by a plane wave expansion method. Its micro modality and photonic band gap properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform IR spectrometer. There was a good agreement between the measured spectra and the simulated results. The tilt-angle reflectance spectra showed that an obvious reflection peak at 3319 nm stayed in existence with different incidence directions. This result proved that silicon inverse opal has a complete photonic band gap in the mid infrared range. This study opens up an opportunity to create Si-based photonic crystal devices for atmosphere mid infrared photodetection.     

Design of photonic bands for opal-based photonic crystals

To make a device from an opal—or otherwise—the photonic bands and the optical properties derived from them are needed. Knowing the effects of different parameters defining the opal geometry and different possible modifications of its structure are needed, too. An accurate definition of the device will be required to obtain a good performance. With this aim, the optics of light with a wavevector in the vicinity of the L point in the Brillouin zone and its coupling to bare opals band structure are presented. An important aspect is the transition from finite to infinite crystal and the study of size effects on the bands. It is possible to substantially alter the photonic band structure of an opal-based system, while maintaining the lattice structure, simply by growing layers of other materials with an appropriate refractive index. Here, it is shown how, by the growth of accurately controlled thin layers of silicon and germanium, and further processing, one can induce the opening of two complete photonic band gaps (PBGs) in an opal structure. Finally, the possibility to fabricate a simple device consisting in a planar waveguide will be shown. By means of a very simple and inexpensive procedure, engineered planar defects acting as microcavities have been realized. These can be viewed as a particular case of a much more general class of heterostructures that can be grown by combining opal vertical deposition and chemical vapour deposition of oxides. A further step is made by applying electron beam lithography to provide lateral definition and facilitate three-dimensional structuring.     

Structural characterization of opal-based photonic crystals in the visible range

For structural characterization of periodic three-dimensional systems with submicron-scale lattice parameters (optical photonic crystals), is analogous to the use of visible light of x-rays. It is shown that specular reflectance and transmittance spectra of opal do indeed yield information on the lattice period and structural perfection of photonic crystals. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 648–650 (April 1998)     

Optical study of three-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals opal/Fe3O4

Optical and magneto-optical properties of three-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals, based on magnetite Fe₃O₄ embedded into an opal film matrix, are investigated in both transmission and reflection. A strong enhancement of the polar Kerr effect and a modification of the Faraday effect have been found near the photonic band-gap of about 1.8 eV. Unusual changes of hysteresis curves and their dependence on photon energy have been revealed in the spectral region where the magneto-optical effect reverses its sign. This phenomenon has been explained by two types of magnetite particles inside the opal matrix having different coercive fields and spectral behaviour.     

Stimulated globular scattering of laser radiation in photonic crystals: Temperature dependences

The characteristics of stimulated globular scattering such as the frequency shift, threshold, and conversion efficiency are studied in photonic crystals (synthetic opal matrices and opal nanocomposites) at different temperatures. The results are compared with the study of stimulated Raman scattering in calcite single crystals. In both cases, a decrease in temperature from +20° C to −196° C resulted in an increase in the energy of stimulated scattering energy and its redistribution into the higher-order components.     

The photonic analogue of the graded heterostructure: Analysis using the envelope approximation

We develop and deploy an envelope function formalism in order to study graded photonic crystals – periodic photonic media whose features vary continuously with position. We use the method to reduce the properties of the uniform crystals to the spectral position of their band edges and an effective mass-like term. These are employed within the Schrödinger-like equation derived herein to determine the behaviour of light inside a specific graded photonic crystal created using depth-dependent infiltration of an artificial opal.     

Stimulated Raman scattering in three-dimensional photonic crystals

The results of experimental studies of stimulated Raman scattering of light (SRS) excited in three-dimensional photonic crystals — synthetic opal matrices infiltrated with Raman active media are presented. It is shown that the SRS threshold in such structures decreases with respect to the SRS threshold in Raman active bulk materials. The influence of the photonic-band structure of the active materials used on the SRS properties is estimated.     

Structural, photonic band-gap, and luminescence properties of the opal-erbium composite

Erbium oxide and silicates were embedded in the pores of synthetic opal by using the chemical bath deposition technique. Electron-microscopic images showed the synthesized compounds to be deposited predominantly in a thin uniform layer on the inner surface of the pores. An analysis of the transmittance spectra suggested that the opal-erbium composite thus obtained retained the photonic band-gap properties of the original ordered opal matrix. The Er³⁺ ions in the composite emitted light at several wavelengths in the visible and near-IR regions (550, 860, 980, 1240, 1530 nm) at 80 K.     

Enhanced photoluminescence from three-dimensional ZnO photonic crystals

We have fabricated optically active ZnO inverse opals by infiltrating polystyrene (PS) opal templates using an electrodeposition process. Compared with bare ZnO films also prepared by electrodeposition, the three-dimensional (3D) ordered ZnO structure exhibits markedly enhanced photoluminescence. The effect of photonic band gap on PL spectra is also clearly observed from the ZnO inverse opal structure.     

Schrödinger’s Cat Meets Einstein’s Twins: A Superposition of Different Clock Times

The phenomenon of quantum superposition, which allows a physical system to exist in different states ‘simultaneously’, is one of the most bizarre notions in physics. Here we illustrate an even more bizarre example of it: a superposed state of a physical system consisting of both an ‘older’ version and a ‘younger’ version of that system. This can be accomplished by exploiting the special relativistic effect of time dilation featuring in Einstein’s famous twin paradox.     

中红外完全带隙Si反蛋白石光子晶体的制备与光学性能研究

通过溶剂蒸发对流自组装法制备SiO2胶体晶体,采用低压化学气相沉积法填充Si,制备得到Si反蛋白石(opal)三维光子晶体.采用扫描电子显微镜对Si反opal的显微形貌进行表征,采用平面波展开法理论模拟Si反opal的光子带隙,采用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪测试其光学性能.研究结果表明:Si在SiO2微球空隙内填充致密均匀,显微红外光谱测试的光子带隙反射峰位置及带宽与理论计算基本符合.变角度反射光谱测试表明,Si反opal沿不同角度入射时在中心波长3319nm处均存在明显的反射峰,证明其具有完全光子带隙,带隙位于中红外大气窗口区域.     

Inverted yablonovite fabricated by the direct laser writing method and its photonic structure

Three-dimensional photonic crystals with an inverted yablonovite structure have been fabricated by the direct laser writing method based on the two-photon polymerization of a photosensitive material. The correspondence of the structure of the samples to the inverted yablonovite lattice has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The photonic band structure of inverted yablonovite, as well as a number of related photonic materials with an fcc lattice, has been calculated. It has been found that the photonic properties of opal and yablonovite are opposite: the complete photonic band gap appears in inverted opal and direct yablonovite and is absent in direct opal and inverted yablonovite. A method for the fabrication of ideal three-dimensional photonic structures having the complete photonic band gap in the infrared and visible spectral ranges has been discussed.     

Secondary emission of globular photonic crystals based on the opal-POPOP composite

The spectra of secondary emission of a globular photonic crystal such as the opal matrix filled with the POPOP aromatic compound (a known luminophore) and initial materials excited by semiconductor light-emitting diodes were studied. It was found that the luminescence spectrum of opal filled with POPOP significantly differs from luminescence spectra of POPOP itself and initial opal. It was shown that the observed luminescence in the visible region is mostly caused by three-photon parametric light scattering. In this case, the spectral shape is controlled by the photon density of states, differing from the photon density of states of pure opal. The shape of the secondary emission spectrum of artificial opal filled with POPOP was calculated. The effect of the photonic bandgap position on the intensity distribution of spontaneous emission of used luminophore was established.     

Controlling the photoluminescence spectroscopy of quinacrine dihydrochloride by SiO_2 inverse opal photonic crystal

Manipulation of the photoluminescence spectra of light-emitting materials doped in three-dimensional （3D） inverse opal photonic crystals is investigated. Quinacrine dihydrochloride molecules doped highly ordered SiO2 inverse opal is successfully synthesized by co-assembly combined with double-substrate vertical infiltrate method. The quinacrine dihydrochloride-doped and-undoped SiO2 inverse opals each exhibit an apparent photonic band gap （PBG） in the visible light region. Significant suppression of the emission is observed when the PBG is overlapped with the quinacrine dihydrochloride emission bands. The mechanism of suppression effect of PBG in inverse opal on the fluorescence intensity of quinacrine dihydrochloride molecules is studied.     

Diffractionless optical networking in an inverse opal photonic band gap micro-chip

We present a design for a photonic crystal (PC) all-optical micro-chip based on a three-dimensional (3D) inverse opal heterostructure intercalated with a two-dimensional (2D) triangular lattice photonic crystal slab. Within the 2D micro-chip layer, we demonstrate single-mode (diffractionless) waveguiding of light in air, throughout a bandwidth of more than 70 nm near 1.55 μm. This suggests that inverse opal photonic band gap (PBG) materials can facilitate on-chip optical networking functions over the telecommunication frequency band used in current-day optical fibers.     

Modification of photonic properties in porphyrin-infiltrated opal crystals

Structural, optical and magnetic properties of porphyrin-infiltrated opal hybrid structures were investigated. Bulk samples of synthetic opal were grown by sedimentation technique from colloidal solution of SiO₂ spheres of diameter 250 nm. The structure of the samples was examined by atomic force microscopy. The photonic properties of crystals were investigated by optical measurements in transmission and reflection modes. The stop band was observed in the region 510–550 nm. The photonic properties of synthetic opal crystals were modified by infiltration with aqueous basic solution of iron–porphyrin (FeTPPS) of concentration 1.0 mM. In hybrid samples the absorption bands typical of FeTPPS were observed in the vicinity of the opal stop band. Magnetic properties of FeTPPS-infiltrated opal samples have been studied at 5–300 K in magnetic fields up to 5 T. The FeTPPS-infiltrated opal crystals can be considered as the structures perspective for magnetophotonic devices.     

Fabrication and annealing analysis of three-dimensional photonic crystals

Three-dimensional face-centered-cubic (fcc) photonic crystals (PhCs) are fabricated on quartz substrate using vertical deposition technique, and followed by annealing in a temperature range of 200-700 °C. The monodispersed SiO₂ microspheres with a diameter of 220 nm in colloidal solution are synthesized using tetraethylorthosilicate as a precursor material. The as grown opal structure exhibits a strong photonic band gap (PBG) around 450 nm in the transmission spectrum. We find that the position of PBG peak in the spectrum is relevant to incident angle of light. Moreover, it is very sensitive to annealing temperature. It quickly shifts to short wavelength direction with annealing temperature increasing. The effect results from the decrease in refraction index due to the moisture evaporation in silica microspheres.     

Gold film-terminated 3-dimensional photonic crystals

Hybrid metal-dielectric photonic crystals assembled from an opal film coated by a gold film are designed in order to realize optical spectra that emanate from mixing Bloch modes in the opal and surface plasmon polaritons in corrugated gold films. The photonic crystal provides a spatial template for the gold film profile and modifies the electromagnetic vacuum in the vicinity to the gold layer. Reflectance spectroscopy was applied to deconvolute the plasmonic and photonic bandgap components in the optical response of hybrid crystals as opposite to their mixed appearance in the transmission spectra.