Related papers: Macroscopic DNA-programmed photonic crystals via s…
Ordered binary and ternary photonic crystals, composed of different sized polymer-composite spheres with diameter ratios up to 120%, are generated using bending induced oscillatory shearing (BIOS). This viscoelastic system creates…
We demonstrate a method to generate entangled photons with controlled spatial shape by parametric down conversion (PDC) in a 2D nonlinear crystal. A compact and novel crystal source was designed and fabricated, generating directly path…
DNA-coated colloids are a popular model system for self-assembly through tunable interactions. The DNA-encoded linkages between particles theoretically allow for very high specificity, but generally no directionality or long-range…
We propose a new strategy to improve the self-assembly properties of DNA-functionalised colloids. The problem that we address is that DNA-functionalised colloids typically crystallize in a narrow temperature window, if at all. The…
Photonic crystals of close-packed arrays of air spheres in a dielectric background of titania have been fabricated with a novel ceramic technique. Unlike previous methods, ordering of the spheres and the formation of the titania network are…
Many promising approaches for designing interactions of synthetic materials with light involve solid optical monocrystals and nanofabricated photonic crystal structures with spatially periodic variations of refractive index. Although their…
Colloidal molecules are designed to mimic their molecular analogues through their anisotropic shape and interactions. However, current experimental realizations are missing the structural flexibility present in real molecules thereby…
Colloidal particles dispersed in liquid crystals can form new materials with tunable elastic and electro-optic properties. In a periodic `blue phase' host, particles should template into colloidal crystals with potential uses in photonics,…
Experiments have reached a monumental capacity for designing and synthesizing microscopic particles for self-assembly, making it possible to precisely control particle concentrations, shapes, and interactions. However, more physical insight…
Structural defects are ubiquitous in condensed matter, and not always a nuisance. For example, they underlie phenomena such as Anderson localization and hyperuniformity, and they are now being exploited to engineer novel materials. Here, we…
An important goal of self-assembly is to achieve a preprogrammed structure with high fidelity. Here, we control the valence of DNA-functionalized emulsions to make linear and branched model polymers, or `colloidomers'. The distribution of…
Photonic crystals have great potential for use as laser-driven accelerator structures. A photonic crystal is a dielectric structure arranged in a periodic geometry. Like a crystalline solid with its electronic band structure, the modes of a…
We have statistically characterized the self-assembly of multi-layer polystyrene colloidal crystals, using the technique of vertical deposition, with parameters chosen to produce thick layers of self-assembled crystals in one deposition…
Inspired by recent successes using single-stranded DNA tiles to produce complex structures, we develop a two-step coarse-graining approach that uses detailed thermodynamic calculations with oxDNA, a nucleotide-based model of DNA, to…
Doped semiconductors are intrinsically homogeneous media. However, by applying an external magnetic field that has a spatially periodic variation, doped semiconductors can behave extrinsically like conventional photonic crystals. We show…
DNA has the potential to realize a controllable liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) system, because the design of its base sequences results in programmable interactions. Here, we have developed a novel DNA-based LLPS system which enables…
Photonic materials with angular independent structural colour are highly desirable because they offer the broad viewing angles required for application as colorants in paints, cosmetics, textiles or displays. However, they are challenging…
Many recent studies of liquid-liquid phase separation in biology focus on phase separation as a dynamic control mechanism for cellular function, but it can also result in complex mesoscopic structures. We primarily investigate a model…
We survey our research on modeling the mechanisms of control of uniformity in growth of nanosize and colloid particles. The former are produced as nanocrystals, by burst-nucleation from solution. The latter, colloid-size particles, are…
Self-assembly processes provide the means to achieve scalable and versatile metamaterials by "bottom-up" fabrication. Despite their enormous potential, especially as a platform for energy materials, self-assembled metamaterials are often…