Photonic band gap materials: Optical properties of hollow spherical shells
Author
Rengarajan, Rajesh
Date
2001Advisor
Mittleman, Daniel M.
Degree
Master of Science
Abstract
Optical transmission studies of three-dimensionally ordered photonic crystals of close-packed spherical shells are presented. These samples are fabricated using a double-template method, which allows for extensive control over shell thickness. The transmission spectra exhibit an optical stop band, whose spectral position and width depend on the thickness of the shell and on the overlap between adjacent spheres, in a manner consistent with numerical simulations. These parameters can be controlled over a wide range, thus permitting systematic studies of the optical properties, and providing a valuable method for engineering the characteristics of the optical stop band in colloidal photonic media.
Keyword
Optics