Optical tuning of three-dimensional photonic crystals fabricated by femtosecond direct writing

In this letter, we report on an optically tunable three-dimensional photonic crystal that exhibits main gaps in the 3–4μm range. The photonic crystal is manufactured via a femtosecond direct writing technique. Optical tuning is achieved by a luminary polling technique with a low-power polarized laser beam. The refractive index variation resulting from liquid-crystal rotation causes a shift in the photonic band gap of up to 65 nm with an extinction of transmission of up to 70% in the stacking direction. Unlike other liquid-crystal tuning techniques where a pregenerated structure is infiltrated, this optical tuning method is a one-step process that allows arbitrary structures to be written into a solid liquid-crystal-polymer composite and leads to a high dielectric contrast.