Tuning and Freezing Disorder in Photonic Crystals using Percolation Lithography.

ABSTRACT: Although common in biological systems, synthetic self-assembly routes to complex 3D photonic structures with tailored degrees of disorder remain elusive. Here we show how liquids can be used to finely control disorder in porous 3D photonic crystals, leading to complex and hierarchical geometries. In these optofluidic crystals, dynamically tunable disorder is superimposed onto the periodic optical structure through partial wetting or evaporation. In both cases, macroscopic symmetry breaking is driven by subtle sub-wavelength variations in the pore geometry. These variations direct site-selective infiltration of liquids through capillary interactions. Incorporating cross-linkable resins into our liquids, we developed methods to freeze in place the filling patterns at arbitrary degrees of par

SUBMITTER: Burgess IB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4726398 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature