We report the fabrication of woodpile structures in submicron scales using a newly proposed 5-beams interference lithography method. The beam configuration is easily accessible in a real experiment than other methods reported recently for the fabrication of the woodpile structures. The configuration is based on the “umbrella” arrangement with four linear polarized side beams arranged symmetrically around and making 41° angle with a circular polarized central beam. The improved experimental approach based on a single expanded beam is demonstrated to be essential in fabricating large-area three-dimensional structures. High quality of woodpile structures are fabricated in polymer photoresists using one step exposure of the 488 nm line from an Argon ion laser. Furthermore, photonic bandgaps...[ Read more ]

We report the fabrication of woodpile structures in submicron scales using a newly proposed 5-beams interference lithography method. The beam configuration is easily accessible in a real experiment than other methods reported recently for the fabrication of the woodpile structures. The configuration is based on the “umbrella” arrangement with four linear polarized side beams arranged symmetrically around and making 41° angle with a circular polarized central beam. The improved experimental approach based on a single expanded beam is demonstrated to be essential in fabricating large-area three-dimensional structures. High quality of woodpile structures are fabricated in polymer photoresists using one step exposure of the 488 nm line from an Argon ion laser. Furthermore, photonic bandgaps in the visible range are obtained for different variations of the woodpile structure.