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Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Holographically formed three-dimensional Penrose-type photonic quasicrystal through a lab-made single diffractive
Ahmad Harb1, Faraon Torres, Kris Ohlinger
1Department of Physics and Geology, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas 78541, USA.
Optics Express
|October 14, 2010
Summary
Researchers created large-area 3D photonic quasicrystals using holographic lithography. These novel materials exhibit ten-fold symmetry and a unique golden ratio in their diffraction patterns, mimicking natural quasicrystals.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Crystallography
Background:
- Photonic quasicrystals are artificial materials with unique optical properties due to their non-periodic atomic arrangements.
- Previous fabrication methods often struggled with scalability and achieving complex symmetries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a scalable method for fabricating large-area three-dimensional (3D) photonic quasicrystals.
- To investigate the structural and diffraction properties of the fabricated Penrose-type quasicrystals.
Main Methods:
- Holographic lithography utilizing a custom-designed diffractive optical element.
- Single laser exposure for efficient fabrication.
- Characterization using Laue diffraction pattern analysis.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of large-area 3D Penrose-type photonic quasicrystals.
- Observed ten-fold rotational symmetry in the fabricated structures.
- Laue diffraction patterns closely resemble those of traditional alloy quasicrystals.
- A golden ratio (1.618) was identified in the radii of diffraction rings, a novel observation for artificial photonic quasicrystals.
Conclusions:
- The holographic lithography method provides an effective route for producing complex 3D photonic quasicrystals.
- The observed properties suggest potential applications in advanced optical devices.
- The findings bridge the gap between natural quasicrystals and artificial photonic materials.
