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7 pages; International audience; An engineering approach towards combined photonic band gap properties and magnetic functionalities, based on independent nanoscale engineering of two different materials at different length scales, is conceptually presented, backed by simulations, and experimentally confirmed. Large (>200 nm)monodisperse nanospheres of transparent silica self-assemble into a photonic crystal with a visible band gap, which is retained upon infiltration of small (

In this manuscript, the synthesis and characterization of superparamagnetic particles and their silica-coated counterparts as building blocks for magnetic photonic crystals is fully described. The advantages and disadvantages of the presented synthetic method are discussed. Preliminary results considering the presence of magnetic species within a photonic crystal are also presented. Suppression of emission of the quantum dots within photonic crystals is attributed to a decrease of the number of available photonic modes for radiative decay. The presence of materials with permanent magnetic moments within photonic crystals shows that suppression of their emission is scaled with the strength of the magnetic field.

Following the impact of a single femtosecond light pulse on nickel nanostripes, material deformations—or “nanobumps”—are created. We have studied the dependence of these nanobumps on the length of nanostripes and verified the link with plasmons. More specifically, local electric currents can melt the nanostructures in the hotspots, where hydrodynamic processes give rise to nanobumps. This process is further confirmed by independently simulating local magnetic fields, since these are produced by the same local electric currents.

Building photonic crystals by combination of colloidal ordering and metal sputtering we were able to construct a system sensitive to an electrical field. In corresponding crystals we embedded the Dexter pair (Ir(ppy3) and BAlq) and investigated the influence of the band gap on the resonant energy transfer when the system is excited by light and by an electric field respectively. Our investigations extend applications of photonic crystals into the field of electroluminescence and LED technologies.

Photonic crystals have become an extremely active area of research, holding much potential for improvement and miniaturization of optical technology, just like semiconductors caused a revolution in electronics. A very popular sample to study in the visible region has been the synthetic opal, made by self-assembly processes from monodisperse dielectric spheres. Its high degree of symmetry and the nature of the dielectric materials usually employed do, however, limit its effectiveness in some ways. Here, we present an experimental investigation of modifications to these materials, adding enhanced magnetic interactions with the electromagnetic field and different shapes to the photonic crystal toolbox, as well as a combination of both.

Faraday rotation for magnetic field sensing can find applications in satellite altitude monitoring. Enhancing and tuning Faraday rotation is demonstrated in hybrid magnetic photonic crystals, based on an independent nanoscale engineering of two different materials (silica and iron oxide) at different length scales ( 200 nm). An engineering approach towards combined photonic band gap properties and magnetic functionalities, based on independent nanoscale engineering of two different materials at different length scales, is conceptually presented, backed by simulations, and experimentally confirmed. Large (> 200 nm) monodisperse nanospheres of transparent silica self-assemble into a photonic crystal with a visible band gap, which is retained upon infiltration of small (< 20 nm) nanoparticles of magnetic iron oxide. Enhancing and tuning Faraday rotation in photonic crystals is demonstrated.