Improving the surface layer structure in opal-like plasmonic-photonic crystals for efficient excitation of optical Tamm states

Abstract We investigate the transmission of light through three-dimensional structures in opal-like plasmonic-photonic crystals with an Au surface layer of different geometries. We study how the inclusion of buffer layers of various forms affects the spectral characteristics of the structures. Three-dimensional photonic crystals have significant advantages over one-dimensional ones since they display a complete photonic bandgap and porosity. Controlling the spectral characteristics of the hybrid plasmonic-photonic mode is an important task that offers the possibility of creating tunable devices based on such structures. In this work we show that the optical properties of structures with different shapes of the surface layer do not depend on light polarization, except for structures with a corrugated Au layer and a corrugated buffer layer. The bandwidth of a structure with a corrugated Au layer is smaller and shows polarization sensitivity in contrast to a structure with a smooth Au layer. The optical characteristics of hybrid structures undergo significant changes when buffer layers of various shapes are introduced between the photonic crystal and the Au layer. The width of the peak in the transmission spectra changes and its intensity increases against the background after the improvement of the structure of the plasmonic-photonic crystal. Thus, opal-like plasmonic-photonic crystals with different structure of the surface layer have spectral features that can be used in integrated circuits, biosensors, and resonators.