Tunable and omnidirectional photonic bandgap properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals fabricated by holography

We carried out a theoretical investigation on photonic bandgap (PBG) properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals (1D PCs) constructed by our periodically doping metal or semiconductor nanoparticles into polymers with a holographic interference technique. The results reveal not only that both the bandgap width and the midwavelength of the PBG are tunable by the choice of parameters of recording materials and exposure conditions but also that 1D PCs may show an omnidirectional PBG property if the doped nanoparticles are from a higher-refractive-index semiconductor material. Some realistic factors, such as the absorption (in the case of the doped nanoparticles that are from a metallic material) and instability of the holographic recording setup during the exposure process, are also theoretically demonstrated to have no serious bad effect on PBG properties of the 1D PCs fabricated by the method. Our conclusions may open up a robust way for one-step fabrications of three-dimensional PCs, omnidirectional 1D PCs, and other photonic devices by cheap, repeatable, and efficient holography. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America