Near-infrared photonic crystals with higher-order bandgaps generated by two-photon photopolymerization

Three-dimensional photonic crystals with bandgaps of 1.5-2.3 mum in wavelength and with gap/midgap ratios of as much as 18% were generated efficiently by two-photon photopolymerization in a liquid resin. From 0.5-1.1-mW femtosecond-pulsed 540-nm light, woodpile structures consisting of 40 layers of elliptically shaped rods spaced at 350-500 nm were fabricated by focusing with a 1.3-N.A. objective. The high degree of correlation in these structures allowed the suppression of infrared transmission by as much as 50% as well as the observation of higher-order bandgaps. We also investigated the decrease in the gap wavelength on reduction of layer spacing, in-plane rod spacing, and rod size. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.