Photonic crystal fabrication deposition methods

In general, fabrication ofphotonic crystals via solution-based methods involves essentially three processes that is, preparation of a template (mold), deposition of a precursor material inside the cavity of the mold, and subsequent removal of the mold to leave a solid matter with the inverse shape of the template. Of these processes, the first two are central when a photonic crystal is fabricated by a solution-based approach, since the removal of the template can be made relatively easily by simple procedures. Thus, we here describe in detail the synthesis of a template and the deposition of material into the cavity of the template. Although there has also been developed a direct synthesis process of photonic crystals (mostly polymer metalorganic photonic crystals) using electron-beam or laser-beam micropatteming techniques (Sun, 1999 Alexe, 2000 Kirihara, 2002 Lee, 2002 Kondo, 2003 Divliansky, 2003), we do not go into details concerning this procedure. 

Zhou, Z. and Zhao, X. S. 2004. Flow-controlled vertical deposition method for the fabrication of photonic crystals. Langmuir 20 1524—1526. 

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