Novel Pyrochlorelike Crystal with a Photonic Band Gap Self-Assembled Using Colloids with a Simple Interaction Potential

Using computer simulations, we investigate the phase behavior of a system of particles interacting with a remarkably simple repulsive square-shoulder pair potential and report the formation of a novel (and stable) pyrochlorelike crystal phase. The lattice structure of the pyrochlorelike phase formed in our simulations possesses two inherent length scales corresponding to the inter- and intratetrahedral neighbors. We show that it can be used to fabricate a photonic crystal which displays complete photonic band gaps in both the direct and inverted dielectric structures.