PLANAR OPTICAL LATTICE OF TIO2 PARTICLES

We present an experimental study of the formation of two-dimensional optical lattices of titanium dioxide particles. The titanium dioxide particles, with an average size of 0.24 mu m and a high refractive index of 2.6-2.9 in the visible region, were trapped in the antinodes of a standing-wave field. The shortest lattice constant reached so far is 0.8 mu m. A corresponding diffraction pattern of the lattice was observed. This is an effort to create a photonic crystal with a lattice constant extended to visible and near-infrared wavelength scales.