Photonic crystals--a step towards integrated circuits for photonics.

The field of photonic crystals has, over the past few years, received dramatically increased attention. Photonic crystals are artificially engineered structures that exhibit a periodic variation in one, two, or three dimensions of the dielectric constant, with a period of the order of the pertinent light wavelength. Such structures in three dimensions should exhibit properties similar to solid-state electronic crystals, such as bandgaps, in other words wavelength regions where light cannot propagate in any direction. By introducing defects into the periodic arrangement, the photonic crystals exhibit properties analogous to those of solid-state crystals. The basic feature of a photonic bandgap was indeed experimentally demonstrated in the beginning of the 1990s, and sparked a large interest in, and in many ways revitalized, photonics research. There are several reasons for this attention. One is that photonic crystals, in their own right, offer a proliferation of challenging research tasks, involving a multitude of disciplines, such as electromagnetic theory, nanofabrication, semi-conductor technology, materials science, biotechnology, to name a few. Another reason is given by the somewhat more down-to-earth expectations that photonics crystals will create unique opportunities for novel devices and applications, and contribute to solving some of the issues that have plagued photonics such as large physical sizes, comparatively low functionality, and high costs. Herein, we will treat some basics of photonic crystal structures and discuss the state-of-the-art in fabrication as well give some examples of devices with unique properties, due to the use of photonic crystals. We will also point out some of the problems that still remain to be solved, and give a view on where photonic crystals currently stand.     

Preparation of 1,2,3,4,7,7-Hexachlörobicyclo[2.2.1] hepta-2,5-diene by condensation of Hexachlorocyclopentadiene with acetylene

Summary 1,2,3,4,7,7-Hexachlorobicyclo[2.2.1] hepta2, 5- diene, a starting material for the synthesis of the insecticides isodrin and endrin, was prepared by condensation of hexachlorocyclopentadiene with acetylene under pressure.     

An Ag-Atom in the 6-6 Subunit of a Zeolite: Model Calculations

Self-sensitisation of photo-oxygen evolution occurs in aqueous dispersions of silver zeolites. In presence of Cl^?, chlorine is the photoproduct in acidic medium, and the same type of self-sensitisation occurs. Self-sensitisation means that systems which are first insensitive to light of a certain wavelength become photo-active after they have been illuminated by light of higher energy. For a better understanding of silver zeolites, we have carried out EH-MO calculations on the 6–6 subunit (SBU) of a zeolite, on the 6–6 SBU with an Ag-atom in the center, on the 6–6 SBU with one Ag-atom in the center and one outside on top of the hexagon, and finally on another with one Ag-atom in the center and two Ag-atoms outside, each on top of a hexagon. The Ag⁰ in the cage of the 6–6 SBU is significantly polarized by the 6–6 SBU environment. The energy barrier to escape the 6–6 SBU is 0.8 eV for Ag⁰ and 0.5 eV for Ag⁺. The HOMO of the Ag(6–6 SBU) is a totally symmetric 5s* orbital and the LUMO is a 5p_z* type. 5p_z*←5s* electronic excitation reduces the energy barrier and allows an (Ag⁰)* to exit the 6–6 SBU, provided the excited-state lifetime is long enough. The MO picture predicts low-energy charge-transfer transitions from the zeolite framework to the 5s* orbital. The highest occupied orbitals of the zeolite framework are localized on the O-atoms. Interactions between an Ag-atom in the 6–6 SBU and one or two external Ag-atoms are discussed.