Metal-nanoshelled three-dimensional photonic lattices.

Micronanostructures prepared by two-photon photopolymerization are utilized as templates for electroless plating of metals, giving rise to an approach for fabricating complex-shaped metal micronanostructures that are so far not achievable by other means. We show that when the coated-layer thickness of a metal coating is larger than a critical value (around 20 nm for silver at 2-3 microm wavelength) associated with the metal's skin depth, the photonic crystals exhibit optical properties more comparable to a solid metal structure than to their polymer counterparts.

Direct laser writing defects in holographic lithography-created photonic lattices.

As a well-established laser fabrication approach, holographic lithography, or multibeam interference patterning, is known for its capability to create long-range ordered large-volume photonic crystals (PhCs) rapidly. Its broad use is, however, hampered by difficulty in inducing artificially designed defects for device functions. We use pinpoint femtosecond laser ablation to remove and two-photon photopolymerization to add desired defective features to obtain photonic acceptors and photonic donors, respectively, in an otherwise complete PhC matrix produced by holographic lithography. The combined use of the two direct laser writing technologies would immediately make holographic lithography a promising industrial tool for PhC manufacture.