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Photonics
Special Issues
Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals
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Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Optoelectronics and Optical Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2025 | Viewed by 6012

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zhongyu Cai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: photonic crystals; chemical and biosensors; optical sensors; smart materials; wearable devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last three decades, photonic crystals (PhCs) have garnered significant interest due to their broad applicative potential in optics and photonics. Generally, these structures can be fabricated via either “top-down” lithographic or “bottom-up” self-assembly approaches. These self-assembly approaches have attracted particular attention due to their low cost, simple fabrication processes, relative convenience regarding scalability, and the ease of creating complex structures with nanometer precision. Self-assembled colloidal crystals (CCs), which are good candidates for PhCs, have offered unprecedented opportunities for photonics, optics, optoelectronics, sensing, energy harvesting, environmental remediation, pigments, display, LED, biomedical engineering and many other applications. The emerging application of CCs and unique photonic structures is enabled by advanced self-assembly methods.

In this Special Issue, we would like to focus on the emerging trends in PhCs. These include, but are not limited to, the simulation of novel photonic crystal structures, new approaches to the fabrication of PhCs, and the wide novel application of these PhCs.

Prof. Dr. Zhongyu Cai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photonic crystals
  • self-assembly
  • sensing
  • display
  • biomedical engineering
  • energy harvesting

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2860 KiB  
Article
Self-Assembly of Zinc Oxide Photonic Crystals in Viscous Liquids: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application to Colored Contact Lenses
by Shuwen Hou, Zichen Pan, Lin Zhao, Xue-Lian Han, Quan-Xi Zhang and Shou-Nian Ding
Photonics 2025, 12(6), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12060598 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 398
Abstract
Structural color is a kind of natural color that widely exists in nature. The ordered microstructure of nano materials can absorb or reflect light of specific wavelength, thus showing colorful colors. Structural color is an ideal choice for color contact lens pattern pigment [...] Read more.
Structural color is a kind of natural color that widely exists in nature. The ordered microstructure of nano materials can absorb or reflect light of specific wavelength, thus showing colorful colors. Structural color is an ideal choice for color contact lens pattern pigment due to its good tinting degree, stability, and nontoxicity. This paper explores a method for synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with a high refractive index and enhancement of the brightness of the structured colors by introducing carbon black nanoparticles. This method is convenient and successful to prepare ZnO ink, which can produce bright structural colors, and to produce color patterns through rubber pad printing. It is worth mentioning that ZnO nanoparticles can be self-assembled and arranged in contact lens ink without subsequent complicated processing. At the same time, the color only comes from ZnO and carbon black. While there is no other organic matter, the presence of nanoparticles plays a certain role in sterilization. Blue contact lenses prepared by this method have bright structural color, high oxygen permeability, and high hydrophilicity. At the same time, a cell viability test showed that the contact lenses prepared by this method had low adsorption capacity for lipids and proteins, reflecting the photonic crystal’s high biocompatibility. In summary, a trend for future research is to use high-refractive-index zinc oxide nanoparticles to produce structural colors rather than employing conventional contact lens pigments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals)
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14 pages, 4164 KiB  
Article
Increasing Light-Induced Forces with Magnetic Photonic Glasses
by Hugo Avalos-Sánchez, Abraham J. Carmona-Carmona, Martha A. Palomino-Ovando, Benito Flores Desirena, Rodolfo Palomino-Merino, Khashayar Misaghian, Jocelyn Faubert, Miller Toledo-Solano and Jesus Eduardo Lugo
Photonics 2024, 11(9), 827; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11090827 - 1 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1414
Abstract
In this work, we theoretically and experimentally study the induction of electromagnetic forces in an opal-based magnetic photonic glass, where light normally impinges onto a disordered arrangement of SiO2 spheres by the aggregation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The working wavelength [...] Read more.
In this work, we theoretically and experimentally study the induction of electromagnetic forces in an opal-based magnetic photonic glass, where light normally impinges onto a disordered arrangement of SiO2 spheres by the aggregation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The working wavelength is 633 nm. Experimental evidence is presented for the force that results from forced oscillations of the photonic structure. Finite-element method simulations and a theoretical model estimate the magnetic force volumetric density value, peak displacement, and velocity of oscillations. The magnetic force is of the order of 56 microN, which is approximately 500-times higher than forces induced in dielectric optomechanical photonic crystal cavities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals)
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15 pages, 5478 KiB  
Article
Design and Fabrication of High-Quality Two-Dimensional Silicon-Based Photonic Crystal Optical Cavity with Integrated Waveguides
by Sohail Muhammad, Dingwei Chen, Chengwei Xian, Jun Zhou, Zhongke Lei, Pengju Kuang, Zhe Li, Guangjun Wen and Yongjun Huang
Photonics 2024, 11(8), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11080753 - 12 Aug 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1949
Abstract
The emergences of silicon-based photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides and two-dimensional (2D) PhC line-defect optical cavities have revolutionized the field of integrated photonics. In this paper, we design and fabricate a high-quality (high-Q) 2D silicon-based PhC optical cavity with integrated waveguides. We employ the [...] Read more.
The emergences of silicon-based photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides and two-dimensional (2D) PhC line-defect optical cavities have revolutionized the field of integrated photonics. In this paper, we design and fabricate a high-quality (high-Q) 2D silicon-based PhC optical cavity with integrated waveguides. We employ the 2D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to simulate the cavity, considering two different thicknesses: 0.5 μm and 0.25 μm. By optimizing the line-defect and air-slot widths for the integrated PhC waveguides, we are able to achieve remarkable Q-factors for the PhC optical cavity. With a silicon thickness of 0.5 μm, the high-Q achieves an impressively high value of 8.01 × 106, while at a silicon thickness of 0.25 μm, it achieves 1.91 × 107. This research highlights the importance of design optimization and fabrication techniques in achieving high-Q optical devices using PhC and silicon-based structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals)
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8 pages, 3374 KiB  
Communication
Cascaded Third-Harmonic Generation in Optically Induced 3D Nonlinear Photonic Crystals
by Tianxiang Xu, Sen Wang, Jing Zeng, Dawei Liu, Ruwei Zhao, Yuming Yao, Yuhao Zhao, Hui Zhao, Tiefeng Xu and Yan Sheng
Photonics 2024, 11(4), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11040313 - 28 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1553
Abstract
Nonlinear photonic crystals with 3D orthorhombic lattice structures were fabricated using the femtosecond laser-poling technique in ferroelectric Sr0.28Ba0.72Nb2O6 (SBN) crystals. The crystals were used to demonstrate the possibility of generating cascaded third-harmonic waves in optically poled [...] Read more.
Nonlinear photonic crystals with 3D orthorhombic lattice structures were fabricated using the femtosecond laser-poling technique in ferroelectric Sr0.28Ba0.72Nb2O6 (SBN) crystals. The crystals were used to demonstrate the possibility of generating cascaded third-harmonic waves in optically poled ferroelectric structures. The spectral response and conversion efficiency of the third-harmonic process were experimentally investigated. While the nonlinear cascading processes can be commonly realized in electric-field-poled ferroelectric crystals, their generation in optically poled ferroelectric domain structures have not been reported elsewhere. In addition to the fully phase-matched nonlinear interaction, Cherenkov-type third-harmonic generation that fulfills the longitudinal phase-matching condition was also experimentally studied. Our study contributes to exploring the full potential of optically induced nonlinear photonic crystals and provides a new choice of materials for third-harmonic generation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Photonic Crystals)
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