Towards 3D photonic crystals

Synthesis of artificial opals with the structural and optical properties of three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals has been carried out. We describe the stages of the uniform silica globules preparation by the multistage bu ild-up method, their packing in the 3D lattice by centrifugation, and their sintering. The correlation between technological parameters used and struc tural and optical properties of the fabricated opals with the photonic band gap maximum range from 475 to 650 nm is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.