Band spectroscopy of colloidal photonic crystal films

Here we report on the optical properties associated with photonic bands of three-dimensional photonic colloidal crystals. Optical spectroscopy analysis shows fluctuations of the transmitted and reflected light intensity in photon frequency regions where no stop bands open up. The different optical features observed at low and high photon energy ranges are analyzed in terms of the band structure of the crystal. A relationship is found between dispersion of the bands and the features observed experimentally. On these premises, we show it is possible to map the higher-energy band region along nonprincipal directions of the first Brillouin zone by transmission spectroscopy. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.