5979.2:
Self-Assembly Photonic Integrated Optics(Saphio)
Abstract
Photonic bandgap crystals reflect light in all propagation directions over a specific wavelength ranges. This property, which can be used to confine, manipulate and guide photons, should allow the creation of all-optical integrated circuits with small feature sizes. Conventional semiconductor nanofabrication techniques have been adapted to make photonic crystals with limited success. A simpler and cheaper approach for creating three-dimensional periodic structures is the natural assembly of colloidal microspheres. It has recently been shown that such PBG crystals can be made compatible with Silicon process technology. The goal of the project is to look at the feasibility of this technology and how it can be applied to achieve planar waveguides with small features size.