Three-dimensional photonic crystal with a stop band from 1.35 to 1.95 microm.

A combination of advanced silicon-processing techniques was used to create three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals with a 180-nm minimum feature size. The resulting 3D crystal displayed a strong stop band at optical wavelengths from lambda=1.35 microm to lambda=1.95 microm . This is believed to be the smallest 3D crystal with a complete 3D photonic bandgap ever created.