Development and annealing of colloidal multilayer structures of silica microspheres

Colloidal multilayer structures of silica microspheres have been developed on the quartz substrates using vertical deposition technique and effect of annealing on optical properties of samples was investigated using UV–Visible spectroscopy. It is noticed that forbidden photonic band gap is a function of annealing temperatures and annealing times. Morphology of particles was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM and TEM micrographs illustrate the uniform size distribution of silica microspheres with an average size of 280 nm.

Graphical abstractColloidal multilayer structures of silica microspheres have been developed on the quartz substrates using vertical deposition technique and effect of annealing on optical properties of samples was investigated.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► We synthesized silica microspheres using TEOS as precursor of average size 280 nm. ► Colloidal multilayers with photonic stop gap in visible region were prepared. ► Multilayers were grown on quartz substrate using vertical deposition technique. ► It is noticed that transmission dip shifts towards short wavelength. ► It is due to decrease in refractive index and size of the microspheres.