Dielectrophoretic Assembly of Switchable Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystals with Specific Orientation

One and two-dimensional colloidal crystals are assembled from aqueous suspensions of latex and silica microspheres in an alternating electric field. These crystals of size up to 25 mm2 are formed in the gap between two planar gold electrodes. They have specific axis orientation parallel to the direction of the applied field without the need for expensive micropatterned templates. The field gradient causes the particles to accumulate on the surface between the two electrodes, align into rows along the field direction, and then crystallize into hexagonal arrays. The lattice spacing can be controlled via electrostatic repulsion. The system can find application in switchable photonic devices.