Abstract

In nanofabrication, it is a major challenge to characterize the structure of a real sample, in particular of three-dimensional (3D) ones that control non-linear optics or quantum dot emission [1]. The challenge notably pertains to nanophotonic media whose properties are determined by their complex structure with feature sizes d comparable to or even less than the wavelength of light (d≤λ). These nanomaterials are from the outset opaque, thus optical microscopy has insufficient penetration depth, apart from limited resolution. While scanning electron microscopy (SEM) offers fantastic nm spatial resolution, it has a small penetration depth hence only the sample surface is viewed (see Fig. 1), but not the bulk. X-ray techniques are promising tools for Nanophotonics, in view of excellent penetration depth, non-destructive character, and nm spatial resolution. Therefore, we study a 3D Si photonic band gap crystal with a cubic diamond-like structure by X-ray tomography [2].

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