Morphology and photonic band structure modification of polystyrene particle layers by reactive ion etching

Morphology of self-assembled polystyrene particle layers has been modified by reactive ion etching. The etched layers have two-dimensional periodic structures in submicron scale, the period of which is determined by the initial size of the particles, and the shape of the etched particles has been gradually changed to a thinner ellipsoid depending on the etching time. Resonant phenomenon between incident light and electromagnetic eigenmodes of the photonic band of the etched layers has been observed in transmission measurement. The resonant frequencies have gradually shifted according to the etching time, i.e., the photonic band structure of the layers has been successfully modified. Various kinds of applications can be expected due to the electromagnetic resonant phenomenon and the characteristic surface structure of the layers. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.