Photonic Labyrinths: Two-Dimensional Dynamic Magnetic Assembly and in Situ Solidification

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 1770 - 1775
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qiao, Janner, Michael, He, Le, Wang, Mingsheng, Hu, Yongxing, Lu, Yu, Yin, Yadong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 10.04.2013
• Subjects: Assembly; Colloids - chemistry; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Ferric Compounds - chemistry; Labyrinth; Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties; Magnetic Fields; Materials science; Mathematical morphology; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanostructures - chemistry; Photonics; Photons; Physics; Platforms; Self assembly; Silicon Dioxide - chemistry; Solidification; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Two dimensional; iron oxide; photonic crystal; magnetic; labyrinth; sol−gel; Dynamic self-assembly; Self-assembly; Sol-gel process; Morphology; Solidification
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl400351k

Creating novel structures by self-assembly processes and fixing the resultant assemblies are both critical to the design and fabrication of functional materials through bottom-up approaches. We demonstrate magnetically induced self-assembly of 2D photonic labyrinth structures and their solidification through a sol–gel method. The photonic labyrinth structures can be patterned into more regular arrangements using nonmagnetic substrates. This work may provide a platform for fabricating novel materials and devices with complex morphologies and spatial configurations.