Fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystals using silicon micromachining

We propose a method for the fabrication of three-dimensional photonic-crystal structures using conventional planar silicon micromachining. The method utilizes a single planar etch mask coupled with time-multiplexed, sidewall-passivating, deep anisotropic reactive-ion etching, to create an array of spherical voids with three-dimensional symmetry. Preliminary results are presented that demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.