Fabrication and Optical Characterization of Rugate-structured Polymer Replicas

Photonic crystals containing rugate structure result in a mirror with high reflectivity in a specific narrow spectral region and are prepared by applying a computer-generated pseudo-sinusoidal current waveform. Well defined 1-dimentional photonic polymer replicas showing a reflectivity at 534 nm have been successfully obtained by the removal of rugate porous silicon (PSi) template from the polystyrene composite film. XRD measurement indicates that the oxidized rugate PSi has been completely removed from the composite films. Polymer replicas exhibit a sharp resonance in the reflectivity spectrum. Optical characteristics of photonic polymer replicas indicate that the surface of polymer film has a negative structure of rugate PSi. These replicas are stable in aqueous solutions for several days without any degradation. The methods have been provided for the construction of photonic structures with polymers. KCI Citation Count: 4