Quick fabrication of gigantic single-crystalline colloidal crystals for photonic crystal applications

Colloidal crystals are potentially mass-fabricative and the most accessible , three-dimensional photonic crystals in the optical regime. We found that a centimeter-sized single-crystalline domain of a colloidal crystal, an ord ered latex colloidal array, could be instantaneously tailored through a dyn amic process, i.e., quenching nonequilibrium. ordering in a concentrated su spension induced by a momentary shear-flow. The single crystal is obtained in an extremely simple manner in a tractable container with a fixed crystal lographic orientation, and resulting samples are sufficiently stable agains t external disturbance for practical application. The proposed method will contribute to the evolution of photonic crystal research and applications.