Structural characterization of thin film photonic crystals - art. no. 235111

We quantitatively analyze the structure of thin film inverse-opal photonic crystals composed of ordered arrays of air pores in a background of titania . Ordering of the sphere template and introduction of the titania backgroun d were performed simultaneously in the thin film photonic crystals. Nondest ructive optical measurements of backfilling with high refractive index liqu ids, angle-resolved reflectivity, and optical spectroscopy were combined wi th band-structure calculations. The analysis reveals a thin film photonic c rystal structure with a very high filling fraction (92-94%) of air and a su bstantial compression along the c axis (similar to 22-25%).