Shift of the photonic band gap in two photonic crystal/liquid crystal composites

Abstract
We have investigated the photonic band gap of normal and inverted colloidal crystals which were infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal. In both systems, the wavelength of the photonic band gap can be tuned by adjusting the temperature. In agreement with recent theoretical predictions, the spectral shift is larger (≈14 nm) in the inverted structure.