Interaction between ordered multilayer structure and randomly distributed nanopillars in biopolymer increases the width of the photonic bandgap

Structure having both ordered and disordered components, integrated into novel photonic structure have been presented. Self-supporting photonic structure is designed, as a combination of ordered multilayer grating and randomly distributed nanopillars. It is created through a combination of holographic method and non-solvent induced phase separation in biopolymer - pullulan, a polysaccharide-based material. Interplay between Bragg regularity and random scattering results in the 35% wide photonic band-gap and high reflectivity of up to 85%.