Layer-by-layer photonic crystal fabricated by low-temperature atomic layer deposition

Layer-by-layer three-dimensional photonic crystals are fabricated by low-temperature atomic layer deposition of titanium dioxide on a polymer template created by soft lithography. With a highly conformal layer of titanium dioxide, a significantly enhanced photonic band gap effect appears at 3.1 mu m in transmittance and reflectance. From optical investigations of systematically shifted structures, the robust nature of the photonic band gap with respect to structural fluctuations is confirmed experimentally. With angle-resolved Fourier-transform spectroscopy, the authors also demonstrate that the fabricated photonic crystal can be a diffraction-free device as the photonic band gap exists over the diffracting regime. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.