Light manipulation with polymeric thin-film photonic crystals

Summary form only given. The photonic energy band structure provides means for light moulding and spontaneous emission control. To realize its full potential electromagnetic waves have to be confined in three-dimensions. So far most studies have used colloidal crystals in the search for 3D photonic crystals, but their intrinsic drawback is a high number of structural defects. Taking into account that the photonic bandgap (PBG) requires less than 100 monolayers to be opened up in a photonic crystal possessing a moderate contrast of refractive indices, the trend towards thin photonic crystal can be justified. One alternative, which shows better results in terms of crystallinity, can be self-assembling of suitable balls in thin films possessing a high aspect (area/thickness) ratio.