Method for patterning self-assembled colloidal photonic crystals and method for fabricating 3-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides of an inverted-opal structure using the patterning method

A method for fabricating three-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides having an inverted-opal structure, which comprises:

• (a) forming a first conductive film corresponding to a pattern of an optical transmission line to be formed on a substrate and second conductive films arranged at both ends of the first conductive film separate from the first conductive film;
• (b) forming, on the substrate, a first photonic crystal of an opal structure having a cavity formed on an upper part of the first conductive film, said first photonic crystal being composed of first colloidal particles and first nanoparticles, and which forming step (b) comprises dip-coating in a fluid containing colloidal particles and nanoparticles while controlling polarities of a voltage applied to the respective first and second conductive films;
• (c) forming in the cavity area a second photonic crystal of an opal structure composed of second colloidal particles and second nanoparticles different from the first colloidal particles and the first nanoparticles;
• (d) forming a photonic crystal composed of the first colloidal particles and the first nanoparticles on the first and second photonic crystals;
• (e) forming an optical transmission line constituting a void space by removing the second photonic crystal composed of the second colloidal particles and the second nanoparticles;
• and
• (f) removing the first colloidal particles constituting the first photonic crystal.

A method for fabricating three-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides of an inverted-opal structure, comprising the steps of:

• (g) forming a first conductive film corresponding to a pattern of an optical transmission line to be formed on a substrate and second conductive films arranged at both ends of the first conductive film separate from the first conductive film;
• (h) forming on the substrate a first photonic crystal of an opal structure composed of first colloidal particles so as to form a cavity on an upper part of the first conductive film;
• (i) forming in the cavity a second photonic crystal of an opal structure composed of second colloidal particles;
• (j) forming a photonic crystal composed of the first colloidal particles on the first and second photonic crystals;
• (k) forming an optical transmission line constituting a void space by removing the second photonic crystal;
• (l) filling voids in the first photonic crystal and the void space of the optical transmission line with a specified material;
• and
• (m) removing the first colloidal particles.