Periodic Distribution of Planar Defects in Colloidal Photonic Crystals

Colloidal photonic crystals containing one to four periodically embedded planar defect layers are fabricated (see figure). It appears that the fabrication of such periodic superlattices leads to a redistribution of the photonic density of states, resulting in the opening of new bands and gaps in the photonic band structure, in comparison with defect-free opals.