Talk:Photonic crystal

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To-do list for Photonic crystal:	edit · history · watch · refresh
This picture[1] is a good example of a 3-D photonic crystal. I think it can be used on this page without copyright problems, since the work has been done at a government lab. vlado4 01:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC) Draw diagrams distinguishing between 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D photonic crystals. This is a good way to represent what is meant by the term, especially to people unfamiliar with concepts related to crystals. Add Seamouse and Peacock to naturally occurring photonic crystals, with related references in scientific journals. It would be nice to put an Scanning Electron Microscope picture of the natural photonic crystal structures. While these are present in papers published in Nature they are probably under copyright. Expand the Applications section. This is important since people not familiar with the physics will be interested in what can be done with photonic crystals. The photonic crystal fiber should definitely be mentioned in more detail and its advantages elaborated upon. vlado4 01:03, 8 April 2007 (UTC) NewScientist reports on a color-changing liquid thatcould cheaply replace the color components of standard LCDs A liquid that changes colour when exposed to a magnetic field could cheaply replace the colour components in conventional LCD monitors, claim US researchers.... ...The opposing forces of electrostatic repulsion and magnetic attraction result in the particles arranging themselves into an ordered structure, known as a colloidal "photonic crystal". Re-write the main heading section to remove reference to semiconductors. Explaining what a photonic crytsal is by comparing it to the (equally opaque) subject of semiconductor band-structures in the main heading seems odd to me. DMB (talk) 11:40, 8 April 2008 (UTC) Rewrite "Computing Photonic Band Structure" section as a "Theoretical and computational methods for photonic crystals" section - although even then, it must be noted that these methods are not unique to photonic crystals, and so this section should be kept brief.

To-do list for Photonic crystal:

edit · history · watch · refresh

This picture[1] is a good example of a 3-D photonic crystal. I think it can be used on this page without copyright problems, since the work has been done at a government lab.

vlado4 01:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Draw diagrams distinguishing between 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D photonic crystals. This is a good way to represent what is meant by the term, especially to people unfamiliar with concepts related to crystals.

Add Seamouse and Peacock to naturally occurring photonic crystals, with related references in scientific journals. It would be nice to put an Scanning Electron Microscope picture of the natural photonic crystal structures. While these are present in papers published in Nature they are probably under copyright.
Expand the Applications section. This is important since people not familiar with the physics will be interested in what can be done with photonic crystals. The photonic crystal fiber should definitely be mentioned in more detail and its advantages elaborated upon.

vlado4 01:03, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

NewScientist reports on a color-changing liquid thatcould cheaply replace the color components of standard LCDs

A liquid that changes colour when exposed to a magnetic field could cheaply replace the colour components in conventional LCD monitors, claim US researchers.... ...The opposing forces of electrostatic repulsion and magnetic attraction result in the particles arranging themselves into an ordered structure, known as a colloidal "photonic crystal".

Re-write the main heading section to remove reference to semiconductors. Explaining what a photonic crytsal is by comparing it to the (equally opaque) subject of semiconductor band-structures in the main heading seems odd to me. DMB (talk) 11:40, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
Rewrite "Computing Photonic Band Structure" section as a "Theoretical and computational methods for photonic crystals" section - although even then, it must be noted that these methods are not unique to photonic crystals, and so this section should be kept brief.

1 Changing the title of "Fabrication Challenges" Section
2 BBC Light storage article
3 Which version of English?
4 Bunch of bull
5 photonic-crystal textbook available online

[edit] Changing the title of "Fabrication Challenges" Section

I think this should be renamed to "Fabrication" rather than "Fabrication Challenges. While it may be difficult to fabricate photonic crystals for optical wavelength, it is indeed possible using Electron beam lithography, Focused ion beam or simply an advanced integrated circuit process. The challenges can be mentioned, but I think it is more insightful to talk about how photonic crystals are fabricated, rather than simply state that it is difficult to make them. What does everyone think?

vlado4 01:19, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] BBC Light storage article

Any scientists out there think there could be an application of this science Media:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4443854.stm to store light using directed propogation of electromagnetic waves, rendering them and -- instead of spontaneous emissions such as found in Photonic crystals -- allow for controlled emissions?

This application could solve the world's energy crisis, completely removing the need for fossil fuels or nuclear power in order to create light. Storing it in such a matter for later use?

Or am I making a mistaken assumption that light can be stored and delved out as needed in this manner?

I am imagining a global redirection of natural sunlight from the currently sunlit side of the earth absorbed in this manner and redirected to the other side of the planet to provide light as needed.

Anything is possible...Why not? But we could already do this using more conventional technology such as fibre optic cables.

--Ekimrenrob 17:59, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

Hello, wikipedia is not intended to be a general forum. Discussion should be related to the article. Perhaps you can find a general Photonic Crystals forum.

vlado4 00:51, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Which version of English?

Does anyone know which English governs the spelling here? At the moment it is written in two with "colour" and "fiber". Dtneilson 05:06, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

It appears that the wikipedia guideline for spelling is rather ambiguous. It states that either English can be used, but authors should be consistent on this page. As of now, there is one "color" and several "colour" on this page. Personally, I would not mind changing it to the American spelling, but I think this minor issue can be overlooked until the article is more developed.

vlado4 00:51, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bunch of bull

Anyone with a microscope and tools and mirrors and vapor deposition equipment can create it. What do you see as an application of it?

Are you claiming that Photonic Crystals are easy to fabricate? Also, are you inquiring about applications of Photonic Crystals? Your "it" leaves much ambiguity.

vlado4 00:51, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

well i dont know, but in most applications it seems like a complex way to do simple things, like a polarizer on an LCD clock, the LED ones just give out light seen at all times!

An LED is a particularly bad example on your part, since photonic-crystal based LEDs are the basis of a successful company (http://www.luminus.com/) whose products are being used e.g. in new Samsung projection televisions. —Steven G. Johnson (talk) 05:18, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] photonic-crystal textbook available online

Hi all, we (at MIT) have recently published a new advanced-undergraduate level textbook on photonic crystals, and the publisher gave us permission to post a PDF of the book online. I suspect it would make a useful reference for readers (and editors) of this article (you are already linking my tutorial presentations), but I won't add it myself due to WP:COI. The book can be found at: