Strong suppression of the photonic density of states in three-dimensional disordered silicon networks
Abstract
Photonic bandgaps can open not only in crystalline dielectric materials but also in amorphous structures. Self-uniform amorphous gyroid networks have been proposed as promising disordered photonic architectures. Motivated by numerical studies, we combine direct laser-writing lithography with advanced materials processing to fabricate these structures from high-refractive-index silicon. Spectroscopic measurements at mid-infrared wavelengths reveal pronounced transmission minima. To investigate the formation of photonic band gaps in amorphous structures, we develop polarization-resolved transmission spectroscopy that separates ballistic and multiply scattered contributions, enabling direct identification of the underlying transport regimes. We observe a strong suppression of diffuse transmission, providing direct experimental evidence for a breakdown of conventional diffuse transport associated with a strongly reduced photonic density of states. Together with large-scale numerical simulations, our results establish the presence of a deep photonic pseudogap in an amorphous three-dimensional dielectric material and open new opportunities for observing disorder-induced localization phenomena, including Anderson localization of light.
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BibTeX
@misc{uribe2026strong,
title = {{Strong suppression of the photonic density of states in three-dimensional disordered silicon networks}},
author = {Abraham Aguilar Uribe and Francisco Hernández Alejandre and Mattis Reisner and Geoffroy Aubry and Luis S. Froufe-Pérez and Marian Florescu and Frank Scheffold},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.00432},
eprint = {2609.00432},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00432},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Strong suppression of the photonic density of states in three-dimensional disordered silicon networks
AU - Abraham Aguilar Uribe
AU - Francisco Hernández Alejandre
AU - Mattis Reisner
AU - Geoffroy Aubry
AU - Luis S. Froufe-Pérez
AU - Marian Florescu
AU - Frank Scheffold
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.00432
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00432
AB - Photonic bandgaps can open not only in crystalline dielectric materials but also in amorphous structures. Self-uniform amorphous gyroid networks have been proposed as promising disordered photonic architectures. Motivated by numerical studies, we combine direct laser-writing lithography with advanced materials processing to fabricate these structures from high-refractive-index silicon. Spectroscopic measurements at mid-infrared wavelengths reveal pronounced transmission minima. To investigate the formation of photonic band gaps in amorphous structures, we develop polarization-resolved transmission spectroscopy that separates ballistic and multiply scattered contributions, enabling direct identification of the underlying transport regimes. We observe a strong suppression of diffuse transmission, providing direct experimental evidence for a breakdown of conventional diffuse transport associated with a strongly reduced photonic density of states. Together with large-scale numerical simulations, our results establish the presence of a deep photonic pseudogap in an amorphous three-dimensional dielectric material and open new opportunities for observing disorder-induced localization phenomena, including Anderson localization of light.
ER -