FABRICATION OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL PHOTONIC CRYSTALS WITH GE2SB2TE5 NANOHOLE ARRAYS BY NANOSPHERE LITHOGRAPHY

Abstract

Two-dimensional photonic crystals (2D-PCs) with Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 ( GST ) nanohole arrays were prepared by the nanosphere lithography (NSL) process. A primary factor of PCs is that the refractive index (n) and the n-modulation can be realized by using the GST films, which exhibit a reversible phase transformation between amorphous and crystalline states by laser illumination. The polystyrene (PS) spheres with a diameter of 500 nm were spin-coated on Si substrate and subsequently reduced by O 2-plasma treatment. The reduced spheres were utilized as a lift-off mask of the NSL process and their size and separation could be precisely controlled. Amorphous GST films were thermally evaporated and then the reduced PS spheres were removed. The fabricated GST nanohole arrays were observed by SEM and AFM. The nanohole diameters are nearly linearly reduced with increasing plasma-treatment time (t). The reduction rate (δ) for the conditions of this work was evaluated to be ~ 0.92 nm/s. The period (Λ) and filling factor (η) of PCs are structure parameters that determine their photonic bandgaps (PBGs). η-modulation can be easily achieved via a control of t and the Λ can be also modulated by the use of PS spheres with specific diameter. In addition, the PBGs for the fabricated GST 2 D PC were calculated by considering the amorphous and crystalline states of GST .