Stimuli-responsive photonic crystals

Recently, tunable photonic crystals (PhCs) have received great research interest, thanks to the wide range of applications in which they can be employed, such as light emission and sensing, among others. In addition, the versatility and ease of fabrication of PhCs allow for the integration of a large range of responsive elements that, in turn, can permit active tuning of PhC optical properties upon application of external stimuli, e.g., physical, chemical or even biological triggers. In this work, we summarize the most employed theoretical tools used for the design of optical properties of responsive PhCs and the most used fabrication techniques. Furthermore, we collect the most relevant results related to this field, with particular emphasis on electrochromic devices.