Opal Circuits of Light??-??Planarized Microphotonic Crystal Chips

We present a novel technique coined directed evaporation-induced self-assembly (DEISA) that enables the formation of planarized opal-based microphotonic crystal chips in which opal crystal shape, size, and orientation are under synthetic control. We provide detailed synthetic protocols that underpin the DEISA process and formulate directed self-assembly strategies that are suited for the fabrication of opal architectures with complex form and designed optical functionality. These developments bode well for the utilization of opal-based photonic crystals in microphotonic crystal devices and chips.