Photonic band structure of colloidal crystal self-assembled in hollow core optical fiber

We report detailed stop-band measurements in colloidal photonic crystals, and a comparison with photonic band structure calculations. An achieved growth of colloidal photonic crystals in a hollow core optical fiber provides an optically accessible self-assembled system with controllable crystal orientations. The stop band is measured through optical transmissions as a function of incident angles relative to main crystallographic directions, revealing critical band structure information and indicating the high quality of the crystal formed.