University of Toronto

San Ming Yang

Geoffrey Alan Ozin

Hernan Miguez

This invention describes methods of synthesis and applications of a composite material of a colloidal crystal and a substrate. The method includes steps of (a) providing a substrate having a surface with a surface relief pattern; and (b) applying a liquid dispersion containing colloidal particles onto the surface and spinning the substrate whereby colloidal particles are swept across the surface and self-assemble in void spaces on the surface defined by the relief pattern. The resulting composite material (substrate with colloidal crystal) may be used in various applications such as chromatography, for use in lab-on-chip based devices, micro-reactors and the like. The material may be infiltrated by a material and the composite inverted to remove the colloidal particles to produce an inverted colloidal crystal pattern on the substrate. The material may be selected such that the inverted colloidal crystal pattern is a photonic crystal.

Method of self-assembly and optical applications of crystalline colloidal patterns on substrates

This invention describes methods of synthesis and applications of planarized photonic crystals. Provided are simple, quick, reproducible and inexpensive methods that combine self-assembly and lithography to achieve the first examples of vectorial control of thickness, structure, area, topology, orientation and registry of colloidal crystals that have been patterned in substrates for use in lab-on-chip and photonic chip technologies. 1-, 2 and 3-D colloidal crystals patterned either on or within substrates can be used for templating inverted colloidal crystal replica patterns made of materials like silicon as well as building micron scale structural defects in such colloidal crystals. These photonic crystals can form the basis of a range of optical devices that may be integrated within photonic chips and coupled to optical fibers and/or waveguides to enable development of highly compact planarized optically integrated photonic crystal devices and circuits for use in future all-optical computers and optical telecommunication systems.

Composite materials having colloidal photonic crystals patterned in substrates for use in different technologies including lab-on-chip and photonic chip technologies. The colloidal crystals are patterned either on or within surface relief patterns in the substrates of the composite materials and each colloidal crystal exhibits Bragg diffraction.

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Toronto, Canada

San Ming Yang