Fabrication and Characterization of Woodpile Structures for Direct Laser Acceleration

Eight and nine layer three dimensional photonic crystals with a defect designed specifically for accelerator applications have been fabricated. The structures were fabricated using a combination of nanofabrication techniques, including low pressure chemical vapor deposition, optical lithography, and chemical mechanical polishing. Limits imposed by the optical lithography set the minimum feature size to 400 nm, corresponding to a structure with a bandgap centered at 4.26 μm. Reflection spectroscopy reveal a peak in reflectivity about the predicted region, and good agreement with simulation is shown. The eight and nine layer structures will be aligned and bonded together to form the complete seventeen layer woodpile accelerator structure.