Flexible fabrication of three-dimensional optical-domain photonic crystals using a combination of single-laser-exposure diffractive-optics lithography and template inversion.

We demonstrate inversion of three-dimensional photonic crystal templates fabricated in a large area with diffractive-optics lithography. A custom-designed two-dimensional diffractive optical element was used to generate highly uniform, bicontinuous, three-dimensional photonic crystal templates in a single-laser exposure. Chemical vapor deposition successfully infiltrated the thick periodic polymer structure to deposit amorphous silica and thereby define an all-silica inverted photonic crystal after polymer removal, as confirmed by focused ion-beam milling and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The diffractive-optics lithography permitted a large number of uniform layers to form that manifested in the recording of a strong -28 dB stopband in the telecom band.