One of the most appealing aspects of photonic crystal structures is the photonic bandgap created in structures with sufficiently high dielectric contrasts between constituent materials. Periodic structures with a modest dielectric contrast between high and low index regions instead form a photonic stopband; the photonic stopband is linked to the principal diffraction resonance from the (111) crystal plane in the photonic crystal. Understanding how specific photonic crystal structures and their associated stopband positions can selectively interfere with incoming light is vital for implementing these structured dielectrics in a range of optical applications. Among the many methods existing to modify the signature optical response of photonic crystal materials, metallo-dielectric photonic crystals act to incorporate metal particles into the ordered arrangement of these structures. We examined the optical changes to the transmission spectrum resulting from copper, nickel and gold metal infiltration into polystyrene opals and TiO₂ inverse opals. We report a consistent and interesting optical phenomena directly associated with the creation of metallo-dielectric photonic crystal structures. More pronounced and numerous diffraction resonances emerge in opal photonic crystals with a metal deposited across the top layer. Common to both opal and inverse opal structures, was a blue-shift in the position of the (111) photonic stopband which increased in magnitude with greater metal content in the structure. We investigate the origin of the photonic stopband blue-shift by variation of the metal content and the placement of metal in the photonic crystal structure. Our results suggest that metal introduced to structured dielectric media acts to tune the position of the photonic stopband by slight alterations to the effective dielectric constant or effective refractive index of the photonic crystal material.

光子晶体结构最吸引人的方面之一是在组成材料之间具有足够高介电对比度的结构中产生的光子带隙。高低指数区域之间具有适度介电对比度的周期性结构反而形成光子阻带；光子阻带与光子晶体中（111）晶面的主要衍射共振有关。了解特定的光子晶体结构及其相关的阻带位置如何选择性地干扰入射光对于在一系列光学应用中实现这些结构化电介质至关重要。在现有的许多修改光子晶体材料特征光学响应的​​方法中，金属介电光子晶体的作用是将金属颗粒结合到这些结构的有序排列中。我们研究了铜、镍和金金属渗入聚苯乙烯蛋白石和二氧化钛引起的透射光谱的光学变化₂反蛋白石。我们报告了与金属介电光子晶体结构的创建直接相关的一致且有趣的光学现象。在蛋白石光子晶体中出现更明显和更多的衍射共振，金属沉积在顶层。蛋白石和反蛋白石结构的共同点是 (111) 光子阻带位置的蓝移，随着结构中金属含量的增加，其幅度增加。我们通过金属含量的变化和金属在光子晶体结构中的位置来研究光子阻带蓝移的起源。