Optical characterization of alcohol-infiltrated one-dimensional silicon photonic crystals

In this work, experimental results on the optical characterization of alcohol-infiltrated silicon/air one-dimensional photonic crystals (1D-PhCs), fabricated by electrochemical micromachining of silicon, are presented. The spectral reflectivity of high-order hybrid 1D-PhCs with a spatial period of 8 microm was measured, in the wavelength range 1.0-1.7 microm, when alcohols (ethanol and isopropanol) substitute air inside the trenches. A reliable redshift is observed in the presence of alcohols, with respect to air, which allows one to discriminate the refractive index difference between the alcohols. Experimental data are in good agreement with numerical results calculated by using the characteristic matrix method, modified to take into account surface roughness of silicon walls.