It was proposed that the technique of template-assisted colloidal self-assembly could be used to visualize the effects of defect propagation in atomic crystal films produced using epitaxial growth. Templates with periodic line defects were used to grow [100]-oriented 3-dimensional photonic crystals by means of the template-assisted colloidal self-assembly method, aided by capillary and gravitational forces.

The defect propagation in the [100]-oriented photonic crystal was observed by using scanning electron microscopy, both at the surface of the crystal and on cleaved facets. This method was useful in the understanding of defect propagation in the growth of colloidal films on templates - and the same approach may also prove useful for the understanding of atomic crystal growth on substrates with defects. Additionally, the deliberate incorporation of line defects may prove valuable as a way of introducing waveguide channels into three-dimensional photonic crystals.

Observations of Defect Propagation in [100]-Oriented Opal-Type Photonic Crystals. C.J.Jin, R.M.De La Rue, N.P.Johnson: Chinese Physics B, 2008, 17[4], 1298-304