Three-dimensional photonic crystals from monodisperse colloidal spheres (latex of silica), also called artificial opals, will be prepared as films on transparent substrates. Stongly luminescing nanocrystals of CdSe und CdTe, InP, CdHgTe and HgTe will be prepared in colloidal solutions using wet chemical techniques. The groups of Dr. Wehrspohn at the MPI für Mikrostrukturphysik in Halle and Prof. Ozin at the University of Toronto, Canada, will receive HgTe nanocrystals emitting at 1.3 and 1.5 µm (telecommunication windows) for impregnation of two-dimensional (Halle) and three-dimensional (Toronto) photonic crystals produced there. Inverse opals will be prepared by a complete impregnation of the voids of the colloidal crystals with semiconductor nanocrystals, followed by the removal of the latex (silica) skeleton. In cooperation with the groups of Dr. Caruso und Dr. Sukhorukov from the MPI für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung in Potsdam we will prepare monodisperse colloidal core-shell spheres. These complex structures will also be used for the fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystals. A subsequent activity will be the preparation of photonic heterostructures consisting of two or more layers.
