Optoelectronic devices have long benefited from structuring in multiple dimensions on microscopic length scales. However, preserving crystal epitaxy, a general necessity for good optoelectronic properties, while imparting a complex three-dimensional structure remains a significant challenge. Three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals are one class of materials where epitaxy of 3D structures would enable new functionalities. Many 3D photonic crystal devices have been proposed, including zero-threshold lasers, low-loss waveguides, high-efficiency light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells, but have generally not been realized because of material limitations. Exciting concepts in metamaterials, including negative refraction and cloaking, could be made practical using 3D structures that incorporate electrically pumped gain elements to balance the inherent optical loss of such devices. Here we demonstrate the 3D-template-directed epitaxy of group III-V materials, which enables formation of 3D structured optoelectronic devices. We illustrate the power of this technique by fabricating an electrically driven 3D photonic crystal LED.

Interference lithography is an attractive technique for the creation of three dimensional photonic crystals. Structures with potential for photonic applications are fabricated in a photoresist through concurrent exposure with four coherent beams of laser radiation. The polymer-air templates are used to create higher refractive index contrast photonic crystals by infilling using atomic layer deposition followed by chemical vapor deposition. These photonic crystals exhibit excellent optical properties with strong reflectance peaks at the calculated band gap frequencies. Two-photon polymerization is used to demonstrate the ability to create designed defect structures such as waveguides in silicon-air photonic crystals.

We describe the fabrication of silicon three dimensional photonic crystals using polymer templates defined by a single step, two-photon exposure through a layer of photopolymer with relief molded on its surface. The resulting crystals exhibit high structural quality over large areas, displaying geometries consistent with calculation. Spectroscopic measurements of transmission and reflection through the silicon and polymer structures reveal excellent optical properties, approaching properties predicted by simulations that assume ideal layouts.

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The authors describe the fabrication and characterization of three dimensional silicon inverse woodpile photonic crystals. A dual exposure, two-photon, conformal phasemask technique is used to create high quality polymer woodpile structures over large areas with geometries that quantitatively match expectations based on optical simulations. Depositing silicon into these templates followed by the removal of the polymer results in silicon inverse woodpile photonic crystals for which calculations indicate a wide, complete photonic bandgap over a range of structural fill fractions. Spectroscopic measurements of normal incidence reflection from both the polymer and silicon photonic crystals reveal good optical properties.