We study photonic band gap formation in two-dimensional high-refractive-index disordered materials where the dielectric structure is derived from packing disks in real and reciprocal space. Numerical calculations of the photonic density of states demonstrate the presence of a band gap for all polarizations in both cases. We find that the band gap width is controlled by the increase in positional correlation inducing short-range order and hyperuniformity concurrently. Our findings suggest that the optimization of short-range order, in particular the tailoring of Bragg scattering at the isotropic Brillouin zone, are of key importance for designing disordered PBG materials.

The mesoscale fabrication of silicon hyperuniform disordered materials with a broad and pronounced photonic gap in the shortwave infrared is reported. Due to their unique structure and their high refractive index, these fascinating materials are predicted to possess a complete photonic bandgap in the absence of any long-range order.

Localization of light is the photon analog of electron localization in disordered lattices, for whose discovery Anderson received the Nobel prize in 1977. The question about its existence in open three-dimensional materials has eluded an experimental and full theoretical verification for decades. Here we study numerically electromagnetic vector wave transmittance through realistic digital representations of hyperuniform dielectric networks, a new class of highly correlated but disordered photonic band gap materials. We identify the evanescent decay of the transmitted power in the gap and diffusive transport far from the gap. Near the gap, we find that transport sets off diffusive but, with increasing slab thickness, crosses over gradually to a faster decay, signaling localization. We show that we can describe the transition to localization at the mobility edge using the self-consistent theory of localization based on the concept of a position-dependent diffusion coefficient.

In the present article we substantially expand on our recent study about the fabrication of mesoscale polymeric templates of disordered photonic network materials [Haberko and Scheffold, Opt. Expr. 21, 1057 (2013)]. We present a detailed analysis and discussion of important technical aspects related to the fabrication and characterization of these fascinating materials. Compared to our initial report we were able to reduce the typical structural length scale of the seed pattern from $a=3.3\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}$\mu${}$m to $a=2\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}$\mu${}$m, bringing it closer to the technologically relevant fiber-optic communications wavelength range around $$\lambda${}$\sim${}1.5\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}$\mu${}$m. We have employed scanning electron microscopy coupled with focused ion beam cutting to look inside the bulk of the samples of different heights. Moreover, we demonstrate the use of laser scanning confocal microscopy to assess the real space structure of the samples fabricated by direct laser writing. We address in detail questions about scalability, finite size effects, and geometrical distortions. We also study the effect of the lithographic voxel shape, that is, the ellipsoidal shape of the laser pen used in the fabrication process. To this end we employ detailed numerical modeling of the scattering function using a discrete dipole approximation scheme.

We present a simple broadband gradient-index antireflective coating, fabricated directly on a single mode telecom fiber tip. A regular array of hemi-ellipsoidal protrusions significantly reduce the Fresnel reflection from the glass-air interface. The parameters of the structure were optimized with numerical simulation for the best performance at and around 1550 nm and the coating was fabricated with Direct Laser Writing. The measured reflectance decreased by a factor of 30 at 1550 nm and was below 0.28% for the 100 nm spectral band around the central wavelength. Compared to quarter wavelength antireflective coatings the demonstrated approach offers significantly reduced technological challenges, in particular processing of a single optical material with low sensitivity to imperfections in the fabrication process.

We report on the mesoscale fabrication and characterization of polymeric templates for isotropic photonic materials derived from hyper-uniform point patterns using direct laser writing in a polymer photoresist. We study experimentally the microscopic structure by electron microscopy and small angle light scattering. Reducing the refractive index mismatch by liquid infiltration we find good agreement between the scattering data and numerical calculations in the single scattering limit. Our work thus demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating such random designer materials on technologically relevant length scales.