ABSTRACT
This image features an atomic force photomicrograph that reveals dislocations in a photonic crystal arrangement of polystyrene nanospheres. It was magnifi ed approximately x350,000 at capture and features a sample that was approximately 1.5 µm × 2.5 µm. In the sample, photonic crystals were grown as self-assembled structures from a colloidal solution. The nanospheres each measured about 200 nm in diameter and are approximately 300 times smaller than a human hair, but approximately 500 times larger than atoms. Thorsten Dziomba of Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt provided the image data and Dr. Frank Marlow of Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung supplied the sample. WSxM software was used to carry out the post-capture colorization. Image courtesy of Hans U. Danzebrink, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig, Germany.
