L. González-García, G. Lozano, A. Barranco, H. Míguez, A.R. González-Elipe
Journal of Materials Chemistry, 20 (2010) 6408–6412
doi: 10.1039/C0JM00680G

Herein we present a synthetic route to attain porous one-dimensional photonic crystals of high optical quality. The method employed, based on the alternate deposition of TiO₂ and SiO₂ porous layers by glancing angle physical vapour deposition, yields a highly accessible interconnected porenetwork throughout the entire multilayer structure. Furthermore, it allows a strict control over the average size and density of the interstitial sites, which results in the precise tuning of the refractive index of the individual layers and thus of the optical response of the ensemble. The controlled environmental response of the multilayer is confirmed by the optical monitoring of the infiltration of liquids of different refractive index.