Opals with a thin-film metallic defect-hybrid colloidal plasmonic photonic crystals

Hybrid photonic crystals consisting of a thin-film opal and a thin profiled gold film situated on the surface or inside the opal have been prepared. The optical transmittance spectra of hybrid crystals have been studied. It has been found that the spectra exhibit minima due to diffraction resonances in the photonic crystal and bands of enhanced transmission due to transfer of radiation through the metal film surface by plasmon polaritons. It has been shown that the transmittance spectra of hybrid crystals with a metal film on the surface are subjected to a stronger modification than the hybrids having a metal film inside the crystal.