Polarization angular-resolved transmission spectroscopy of opal films

Abstract

In this paper, we investigated the angular behavior of light transmission through opal films over a broad range of wavelengths and angles. The opal films were prepared using the capillary deposition method (CDM). The observation of many well-defined diffraction peaks indicates that the CDM results in opal films with high quality. Peaks overlapping at normal incidence split when samples are rotated. The angular shift of these peaks was found to satisfy the kinematical diffraction theory very well. Furthermore, the variation of intensity with incident angle can be interpreted in terms of a simplified dynamical diffraction theory. Moreover, the presence of two differently oriented domains in CDM-made opal films is essential in discussing the measured spectra. These domains can be assigned to parallel microscopic stripes of ABC and ACB type fcc structures. Angular-resolved spectroscopy with polarized incident light shows interesting polarization dependence of light propagation inside opals.