Tunable photonic stop band in the wavelength region of fiber-optic communication

Three-dimensionally ordered photonic crystals with the photonic stop band in the telecommunication wavelength region have been fabricated using the inward-growing self-assembling method. Photonic crystals are fabricated with different thicknesses to reveal the evolution of the photonic stop band. Structural characterization shows well-ordered (1 1 1) plane parallel to the substrate. Optical characterization measurements show the presence of the first-order photonic stop band in the wavelength region of 1550 nm. This stop band is tunable in the fiber-optic telecommunication window covering the complete S-, C-, and L-bands merely by varying the angle of incidence.