The three-dimensional photonic crystals coated by gold nanoparticles

We report on the fabrication of metallodielectric photonic crystals by means of interference lithography and subsequent coating by gold nanoparticles. The grating is realized in a SU-8 photoresist using a He–Cd laser of wavelength 442 nm. The use of the wavelength found within the photoresist low absorption band enables fabricating structures that are uniform in depth. Parameters of the photoresist exposure and development for obtaining a porous structure corresponding to an orthorhombic lattice are determined. Coating of photonic crystals by gold nanoparticles is realized by reduction of chloroauric acid by a number of reductants in a water solution. This research shows that the combination of interference lithography and chemical coating by metal is attractive for the fabrication of metallodielectric three-dimensionally periodic microstructures.