Self-assembled polymer opal colloidal crystals can be useful either as templates for processing, followed by inversion with high-index material (leading to waveguide structures inside a full-band-gap photonic crystal) or as a stop-band material that has special mechanical properties, not achievable with the inorganic high-index-materials. Both options are explored in the present contribution. Polymer photonic crystals with a stop band that is reversibly tunable by some external parameter enable fascinating applications. One possibility has been much explored in recent time and uses mechanical stress to reversibly change the crystal periodicity and hence its optical properties. Even without a full photonic band gap, these devices hold promises for optical, decorative, or security applications, such as tunable optical modulators/filters or optical tension indicators.
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