b detail of the cleaved edge showing complete inversion c high magnification micrograph of the a si h surface showing low surface roughness and good overall silicon infiltration the scale bars represent a 5 u03bcm b 1 u03bcm and c 0 5 u03bcm the different diameter microspheres were then crystallized by assisted directed evaporation induced self assembly deisa of an ethanolic dispersion within the spatial confines of a parallel array of micrometer scale rectangular microchannels on a glass substrate this method being described in u s patent application ser no 09 977 254 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference convection and capillary forces cause the silica microspheres to nucleate and grow as well ordered and oriented fcc colloidal crystals exclusively within the microchannels with the top surface being a 111 crystalline plane the walls 112 and the end surfaces 110 these silica colloidal crystals are then mechanically stabilized and connected with a continuous layer of sio 2 from a room temperature acid catalyzed reaction of gas phase sicl 4 aldrich 99 with condensed water on the sphere surface using a method described in u s patent application ser no 10 255 578 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference the microfibres are subsequently infiltrated with silicon in a layer by layer fashion using either a home built static or dynamic chemical vapor deposition apparatus and disilane si 2 h 6 aldrich 99 99 as the silicon precursor for the.