A Novel hybrid organic/inorganic 2D PC showing a resonance action at the Band Edge

A 2D hybrid Photonic Crystal (PC) which consists of air rods in a nanocomposite prepared by incorporating CdSe/CdS core/shell nanorods (NR) in a polymer is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Since the styrene methyl acrilate based polymer (ZEP) is transparent in the visible spectral range and it is an electron-sensitive material, it was chosen as the embedding matrix for NRs. Scanning electron microscopy and luminance measurements are used to characterize the experimental structure. The vertical extraction of the light, by the coupling of the modes guided by the PC slab to the free radiation via Bragg scattering, consists of a narrow orange emission band at 596 nm with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 10 nm. The original characteristics of hybrid materials based on polymers and colloidal NRs, able to combine the unique optical properties of the inorganic moiety with the processability of the host matrix, are extremely appealing in view of their technological impact on the development of new high performing optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, ultra-low threshold lasers and non-linear devices.