Interferometric investigation of photonic band-structure effects in pure and doped colloidal crystals

Björn T. Rosner, Garrett J. Schneider, and George H. Watson

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716

(Received April 29, 1998; revised August 11, 1998 )

A Mach–Zehnder interferometer was developed for accurately measuring relative phase shifts of light propagating in photonic colloidal crystals deep into the stop bands. These phase shifts can be used to determine the change in index of refraction and the optical dispersion relation from photonic band structure near the band edges. Phase measurements of colloidal crystals incorporating an impurity peak in the transmission spectrum are also presented. © 1998 Optical Society of America

PII: S0740-3224(98)01211-9
PACS: 42.70.Qs, 78.20.Ci, 42.70.Jk, 07.60.Ly, 42.50.-p, 63.50.+x, 71.55.Jv, 82.70.Dd