3-D Photonic Band Structure Engineering in Self-Assembled Macroporous Photonic Crystals

By applying directional pressure along the (111) crystal axis of opaline photonic crystals under controlled temperatures, inverse opals with symmetry broken structures are fabricated. This selective deformation results in strongly modified photonic band structures and hence optical properties of the photonic crystals. Experimental data are accompanied by theoretical band structure calculations that confirm the experimental results and are used to predict new structures with optimized band gap properties.