Strong suppression and enhancement of photoluminescence in Zn2SiO4:Mn2+ inverse opal photonic crystals

Inverse opal photonic crystals based on a luminescent matrix of Mn2+-doped Zn2SiO4 were synthesized, and their photoluminescence was investigated using a fluorescence microscope and spectrometer. Strong suppression of the luminescence from the Zn2SiO4:Mn2+ matrix in certain directions was observed directly due to the overlap of the pseudo-photonic bandgap (PPBG) and the emission band. As a result, the luminescence in other orientations (outer of the PPBG) was enhanced significantly. This cost-effective, non-lithographic method to produce luminescent inverse opals is expected to be useful for the fabrication of anisotropic photonic crystal light sources for display applications.