An integrated approach for photonic crystal inspection and characterization

Photonic crystals are attractive optical materials for controlling and manipulating light. They are of great interest for both fundamental and applied research, and are expected to find commercial applications soon. In this work digital holography, white light interferometry and atomic force microscopy have been applied to the inspection and characterization of 1D and 2D nanofabricated LiN photonic crystals. Periodic pattern with periods ranging from several microns to a fraction of micron have been accurately analysed. Optical methods allow exploring relatively large areas while atomic force microscopy is well suited for high-resolution inspection of the small features.