Two-foton polymerization fabrication of photonic crystals in doped polymers

• Grant number: 12/21807-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: July 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Cleber Renato Mendonça
• Grantee: Vinicius Tribuzi Rodrigues Pinheiro Gomes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/12399-0 - Femtosecond pulses applied to nonlinear optics: spectroscopy, pulse shaping and microfabrication, AP.TEM

Abstract

Many of our great technological advances came from a deeper knowledge on materials properties. More specifically, the study of the electrical properties of materials was responsible for a technological revolution. Advances in semiconductor physics opened the possibility to tailor the conducting properties giving rise to the transistor, microelectronics and computer revolution. However, in the last decades, a new frontier has appeared: the control of material´s photon propagation properties. The material that allows that kind of control is called photonic crystal and is made basically of a periodic arrangement of different dielectric media. As the control of electron conductivity in semiconductors led to great technological advances, the control of photon flux in a photonic crystal might be the key to the beginning of a new technological revolution.The fabrication of photonic crystals in one and two dimensions is already accomplished through conventional micro fabrication methods. But, the production of tridimensional photonic crystals is still a challenging task because it requires great precision and high resolution in the fabrication of complex geometries. The two-photon polymerization (2PP) arrived as a promising micro fabrication technique that has a series of advantages over conventional fabrication methods. Because of Its precision, high resolution (not limited by diffraction) and the possibility to produce unconstrained tridimensional microstructures, 2PP is one of the best candidates for the fabrication of 3D photonic crystals.In this project we aim at the fabrication of tridimensional photonic crystals by means of two-photo polymerization. Besides, we intent to produce photonic crystals with special properties through the doping of the base resin, used in the 2PP process, with azoaromatic compounds. By exploring the photoisomerization property of the dopant we want to change the photonic crystal properties. This will be done through the use of an Ar+ laser operating at 514 nm. The ability to change and control the characteristics of a photonic crystal with an external source opens new possibilities for a wide range of applications in photonic devices and optical micro circuits.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AVILA, O. I.; OTUKA, A. J. G.; TRIBUZI, V.; FREITAS, L. M.; SERAFIM, R. B.; MORAES, M. H.; ESPREAFICO, E. M.; VALENTE, V.; FONTANA, C. R.; MENDONCA, C. R.. Fabrication of Microenvironments with Different Geometrical Features for Cell Growth Studies. JOURNAL OF LASER MICRO NANOENGINEERING, v. 9, n. 3, p. 248-251, NOV 2014. (11/12399-0, 12/21807-7)